The Loss of their Youth
by TheMarauderLife
Summary: This story follows the life of Adelaide Reid and her friends, (Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon and Darlene O'Connell), through their sixth year as they attempt to tolerate life with the Marauders and a war brewing outside the castle walls. Hopefully continuing to their later lives, in this story events will be changed and the story may not turn out quite as you expect
1. A Train Ride

**A/N: Hi there my lovelies! So this is a Marauder Era story which begins in sixth year and will hopefully continue right through to post-hogwarts. This isn't my first Marauder story, but I'm hoping it'll be my best and I am very excited about it. There'll be plenty of my own characters mixed in with J.K's ones, and I hope you enjoy! Do be warned though, most of my story won't be canon and I plan on changing events to suit my fangirling needs...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not, nor ever will, own any of J.K. Rowling's wonderful world, (I can only dream).**

 **I should, however, mention that although this story is rated a T, there may be some strong language and action- and probably some mentions of sex, but nothing too graphic, I promise!**

 **Much love x**

Prologue

August 11th 1978

Life is a long line of moments.

A bundle of scenes, events, conversations, words, arguments, duels, embraces and breaths that are all bound together to create a life time. Interlinking all these moments are our decisions. They are the things that define us, and they make us human - whether we be muggles or wizards - deciding the path that we will take.

At least, that's what some people believe.

At this particular moment in time, on the eleventh of August 1978, Adelaide Beatrix Reid didn't believe that. She had a decision to make, a very hard decision, in fact, for she was a very indecisive person. She _knew_ that this decision would decide her future - but what she didn't realise was that it would decide so many other paths as well.

So, here she was, stood at the kitchen sink, her chipped, purple nails biting into the wooden counter, a crease marring her forehead as she struggled with her thoughts. Faces blurred around her head - a certain face appearing more frequently than others - as she desperately _tried_ to decide what to do. But it was difficult. Her family were waiting in their old car, impatient for her to go with them, and nothing should have been holding her back.

But it was.

Should she leave, or should she go? The question lingered. It seemed simple, but didn't feel that way, and as her worries swirled around, a resigned sigh escaped her lips. She couldn't help but feel torn between what was right and what was easy, especially when the right thing to do meant she would lose _so_ much.

Of course, this was all irrelevant.

You see, the strange thing was, Adelaide didn't realise that the decision had already been made for her. The pink-grey clouds knew, the light, chilly breeze knew, the whole _world_ knew that she was going to brush down her jeans, walk out of that door and climb into that rusty blue ford where she belonged. She had to. It was written in the stars, it had been decided by fate a long time ago.

Only, there was one small problem.

Adelaide Beatrice Reid rarely did as she told. And this, like many others before it, is a story. Many different versions of this story could – and have been – told… but _this_ is the version I believe. Because I know Adelaide Reid more than anybody else does, and I'm almost certain that this is the decision she would have made. You can decide for yourself.

This is what happened when she stayed.

A train ride

September 1st 1976

" _You're sat on Bean, Addie!"_ screamed Louisa, one of Adelaide's two younger twin sisters. Bean was her treasured teddy, and Adelaide tugged it roughly out from under her leg, kissing the tattered lump on the ear.

"There. I kissed him better, alright?" Louisa huffed melodramatically, but Addie just rolled her eyes, used to seven year old sass.

"What have you got there?" demanded Della, the most outspoken of the pair. _Though they're both loud enough_ , Addie thought sourly. In her hand was a scrunched up letter from Sirius Black, which had only arrived that very morning. Addie quickly stuffed it in her pocket.

"Mind your own." she grumbled. Della stuck out her tongue in response.

Their small five-seater car was positively overflowing with Adelaide's huge trunk, her cluttering owl Pudgy, (who was a miserable-looking, large bird with a squished face), and her whole family, so everyone's patience was wearing thin - Adelaide's especially, since she was sure they would miss the train. She tapped her foot impatiently from where she was wedged between the squawking Louisa and Della, until her mum snapped at her to stop. She didn't.

The morning had been hectic, with people running about madly, her dad trying to serve breakfast to the girls, and Addie desperately trying to stuff last bits and pieces into her suitcase. Every year, her mother nagged her to pack earlier, and every year Addie responded with a "That's not helping!" It usually ended in an argument, but this year, thankfully, (for Addie and her mother's shouting matches were not enjoyable for anyone), her dad stepped in, ever the peacekeeper, calming them both before it could get heated.

The said man finally climbed into the driver's seat, flashing a grin at his grumpy family, (Addie didn't understand how he could always be so damn _jolly_ ), and they drove quickly to the station. She watched her parent's heads sway as the car rocked along - her mother's mousy dark hair, which was once thick and curly like Addie's, was pulled into a tight pony tail that was wedged between the back of her head and the old car seat. She could see her mum's bony hands were clenched tightly in her lap as her dad swerved in and out of traffic' the older woman had always hated driving, but she didn't complain and for that, the sixteen year old was grateful. It would only cause another row.

Addie glanced out of the window. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She sighed, and wished - as she did often - that she could use magic at home, despite not knowing the spell to speed up a car. Everything was just so much easier with magic, and she was itching to get back to school.

Lily groaned as she tried to tug the heavy trunk onto the train, her cheeks flushed from the warmth of the station. She struggled for a few minutes, before giving up and aiming an angry kick at the heavy load. Her parents, two cheerful muggles by the names of Charles and Katherine Evans, stood fairly far away, chatting to one of Lily's closest friends, Alice, and her parents - but none of the five people seemed aware of Lily's struggles. The said witch cursed under her breath - now nursing an injured foot - and wished bitterly that she hadn't packed quite so many books for extra reading. She knew it was a bad idea to bring The Tails and Trials of One Hundred Witches. She reprimanded herself, but was suddenly pulled from her angry thoughts by a warm voice, as the trunk rammed in the carriage door once again.

"Can I help you with that?" asked Colin Dawkins, a smile lingering on his face. Lily stuttered as his glittering blue eyes glued her to the spot, making her breath hitch in her throat. Colin Dawkins was a year older than her, and with his handsome features and a sharp mind, he was the boy of every girls dreams. Of course, Lily didn't class herself as one of those _airheads_ , but that didn't stop her stomach from doing a little flip as a strand of his perfectly groomed blonde hair curled onto his forehead.

"I... thank you." she stuttered, blushing furiously.

"That's no problem." He dragged her case into a carriage with ease, slotting it into an empty space above the seats, before flashing her his brilliant smile. She knew those perfectly straight teeth had left many girls before her weak at the knees. "You really should be careful with your trunk. For some reason, I don't think kicking it will do it any good." His eyes sparkled with humour and she laughed - but it sounded forced and slightly manic. She coughed, embarrassed.

"You're right. Thanks again, Colin."

"I'll see you around Lily." But he didn't leave straight away. Gently, he altered the satchel strap that was slipping down her shoulder and gave her one last glance before disappearing down the train. Lily's heart fluttered and she sighed, but she had little time to relish the moment.

"Did I just see you talking to Colin Dawkins?" asked Alice, clambering onto the train. Of course, her trunk slid into the carriage effortlessly, as she glanced at her friend.

Lily smiled in spite of herself. "He was helping me with my trunk."

Alice raised her eyebrows sceptically. "Lily, dear, Colin Dawkins doesn't just _help_ girls with their trunks. He must have taken a fancy you." Lily laughed, rolling her eyes at Alice's ability to exaggerate.

"I don't know about that..."

"Trust me, Lils, I can tell. Don't you get how lucky you are? Colin Dawkins - chaser on the Ravenclaw team; school prefect and dreamy heartthrob, has his eyes on _you_. You should jump at the chance." Lily smiled at her friend. Alice was a year older, but when it came to romance, she acted like a giggly third year. Her rosy cheeks and short height didn't soften the image.

"Leave it, Alice. We were just talking. And _you_ have a boyfriend." she reminded her with a smirk. Alice stuck her tongue out at Lily, but was quiet as they lifted her trunk up next to her friend.

"Speaking of which - have you seen Frank? I can't seem to find him anywhere.'' Lily shook her head, having looked around the station for Alice's boyfriend previously, as well as their other friends, and together they went back out to the corridor to speak to their parents out the window.

Finally, Addie and her family arrived and all clambered out of the Ford, rushing into King's Cross Station. Addie had begged her parent's not to let the twins come, as she knew they'd surely make them late and make the car ride hell, but her mum had been adamant. "You know they love running into that wall." She'd reminded her, and Addie couldn't deny it. The twins were infatuated with the wonder of the wizarding world, and asked her countless questions. She'd always wished that they would turn out to be witches too, so they could experience it for themselves, and so they wouldn't always be pestering her, but they'd shown no signs of magic. Sometimes, Addie thought this relieved her mum in a way. Although she didn't _disapprove_ of Addie's lifestyle, exactly, she seemed to wear this strange tight-lipped expression when Addie talked about some of the stranger happenings that went on in the Wizarding world. But, she'd always been fairly sceptical of the supermatural, so who was to blame her?

They ran onto platform 9 3/4 and as usual, Addie's heart rate sped up at the sight of all the wizarding families mulling about, and the huge red steam train that immediately made her feel at home. The air was warm and damp, settling on her skin, and the smell of warmth and smoke and leather trickled under her nose.

Fortunately, the train wasn't moving, and when Addie glanced at the clock, she saw that they still had a couple of minutes to spare. They made their way to the nearest carriage.

Louisa and Della wrapped their arms around her middle tightly, beaming up at their older sister, their earlier feud forgotten. Addie hugged them back with a smile. "Good luck in Mrs Jackson's class, Lou." she smiled, talking of the horrible teacher her sister had next year, (whom she herself had suffered through during her fourth year of primary school), whilst ruffling her blonde hair. "And you be good, Dell. No more sword fights."

"I promise." she replied, crossing her heart and grinning. Addie rolled her eyes, a habit which her mother had begged her to lose and was consequently part of the reason why she never had.

"I love you both." She turned to her mum, who hugged her and kissed her on the cheek, whispering a stern "Be good." (She wasn't one for soppy goodbye's), and got a special bear hug from her father, who, surprisingly, had tears in his eyes.

"You have fun, Addie." He beamed, placing his warm hands on her shoulders. "We're both so proud of you."

"Thanks Dad."

He smiled, sadly. "Jump on, quickly now."

Not sure how to respond, and feeling slightly confused as to why her father was acting so nostalgic, Addie stepped onto the train, and waved as it began to move along. The twins ran along beside her, giggling, until it sped away.

Along the train, other students were mirroring Lily and Alice, saying their last minute good-byes. The Hogwarts Express was due to depart any minute, so the redhead wrapped both her mum and her Dad in a hug, promising to write. Next to her, Alice did the same. Tears had started to form in her Mother's green eyes and her Dad wore a proud smile.

"Look after yourself, sweetheart, and be safe." said Katherine. Lily smiled.

"I will. I love you both." She hesitated. "And send my love to Petunia too. I... tell her I'll miss her." Her mother smiled weakly, as a loud horn blared.

"Of course I will. You never know, she might come round this year... she just needs time." Lily highly doubted that, since six years on, her sister still hated her - but she couldn't help feeling the same flutter of hope that her parents did. She smiled brightly, for their sake.

"I'm sure she will." The train began to chug along and Lily leaned further out of the window, waving as they hurried away.

"I'll see you soon!" she cried, waving and smiling as her parents did the same, holding each other. Once they were out of sight, she closed the window and looked back at Alice with a smile. "And so, our sixth year begins."

Alice disappeared to find Frank, but Addie soon appeared, her dark, chocolate hair curling around her face. Lily had always felt a twinge of jealousy when she saw Addie's big, bright blue eyes and dark curls, but she didn't realise that Addie envied her pretty green eyes and bright hair just as much. Addie ran at Lily, wrapping her arms around the redhead, like all her Christmases had come early. It had been a long summer without her best friends.

"I've missed you!" she exclaimed.

"You're squashing me, Ads!" laughed Lily, as the former released her. "I missed you too."

They settled into the carriage, watching the fields fly past the window. It was warm and Lily sat back in her seat, relishing in the peace she knew would soon disappear when they go to school, as they babbled about summer.

It was a few minutes before a dishevelled Marlene appeared, her trunk trailing behind her and her long blonde hair tumbling around her flushed face.

"There you two are!" she cried, her case banging against the door as she pulled it in. "I've been looking everywhere! Nearly missed the train as well - you know what Dad's like." Lily and Addie jumped up to help her lift her trunk, smiling, and they had just finished when another girl showed up.

"Hi, Mary." grinned Addie, reaching out to hug their other dorm mate, who was stood in the open doorway. Mary Kelpings and her best friend Jo Harrington were the remaining members of the dorm, though they weren't as close to Lily, Marlene and Addie.

"Where's Jo?" asked Marlene, though only out of politeness. None of them were very keen on the remaining girl in their dorm. Mary rolled her eyes.

"Oh, she got a boyfriend over the summer - Adam Baker in hufflepuff, have you heard of him? Anyway, she might be along shortly… after their make out session, that is. The traitor." Her words were sarcastically spoken, but her smile was fond. The girls laughed, but were fairly surprised at the news. Jo wasn't one for a long term relationship.

"Where's Alice, anyway?" Mary asked, plopping down.

"With Frank." replied Lily. "But she might be sitting in Helda's carriage for the journey." Helda Jones was Alice's best friend in the year above and was a bit dim, but a nice girl, nonetheless, and they all liked her.

They settled down once again, talking to each other about their summers, and filling in the gaps that they hadn't told one another in their letters.

All the girls had very different home lives: Addie was Lily's only other muggleborn friend, (and had had a lot of disputes over the years with slytherins for the fact); Alice's family were well respected purebloods; Marlene's father worked for the Ministry of Magic; Jo came from a family of Half-bloods; and Mary was also a half-blood, with four other siblings, (all with her chestnut hair and sarcastic humour). Jo's parents were together, (unlike Marlene's, whose mother had left when she was very young), but they argued constantly, and she didn't speak of them often.

Eventually, they started discussing boys. Lily talked about how she spent her whole summer avoiding Severus Snape, who constantly wanted to talk to her, whilst Mary told stories of her holiday romances and Marlene described the letters she'd wrote to Charles Kipling (a hufflepuff in their year whom she'd been sort-of dating for a while). Addie listened, feeling slightly out of it, but didn't particularly mind. She knew she'd feel worse to be under interrogation.

"What about your crush on Remus, Mary? Has that disappeared yet?" Lily asked. Addie noticed that Marlene turned pink at Remus's name and smiled slightly. It looked like Charles had competition.

Just as Mary finished gushing about Remus, (apparently her crush on the marauder hadn't disappeared), the door opened again, and in entered a beaming Jo Harrington. She looked windswept, but her auburn hair, which was always sleek and well groomed, still managed to fall endearingly onto her shoulders. Addie had always marvelled at how she managed to look like she'd just appeared off a magazine photoshoot, come rain or shine. Mary got up, smiling and tugged her best friend into a seat.

"Jo! You're here!" she squeaked.

"Yeah, I was slightly... preoccupied.'' she threw them all a lazy grin, which only Mary returned.

"Is this, er, Adam?" asked Lily. Jo was a 'onetime' kind of girl, and had a reputation at Hogwarts - which was why they were all surprised when they heard that she'd had a boyfriend.

"We met over summer.'' she gushed. "I never knew he lived nearby until he said that he recognized me from school. Oh, he's just perfect." It was hardly a long relationship, but probably one of the longest Jo'd had, and Addie couldn't help but feel glad for the girl - maybe this was a new her, after all.

"I thought you were in Egypt all summer? That's why we didn't meet up." pouted Mary.

"Ohh, right. Mummy cancelled it at the last moment. I'm sorry, love. I didn't want to spoil your plans."

"It's alright, I guess." replied Mary, though rather sulkily. There was a pause, which everyone but Jo seemed to find awkward.

"So, what were we talking about, girls?" she beamed.

"Boys." laughed Marlene, smoothing over the uncomfortable silence. "But we've already grilled everybody."

"Not Addie." Lily reminded them. Addie grimaced. So much for escaping interrogation.

"Spill the beans then, Ads."

"There's really nothing to tell." she muttered. "You know I'm not really a magnet for the opposite sex."

"Purr-lease, you're a looker, love. And don't you think otherwise." Alice scolded. "You'll meet a bloke one day."

"Maybe."

They went back to discussing their crushes, but Addie couldn't avoid the sidelong glance that Jo sent her way.

The rest of the journey was more uncomfortable after Jo's arrival, despite Mary's attempts at conversation. And when, a couple of hours later, Lily had to go to the prefect cabin for a meeting, she hated to admit that it was a relief to leave the tense compartment, and she felt better once she was out in the open corridor. She checked her watch. The prefect meeting started in fifteen minutes - so she'd just have to wander around for a little while first. She wondered if she could find Alice.

Slowly, she walked along past the compartments, filled with students, looking at the pretty view outside the train.

But, suddenly, she was interrupted.

"Lily." In front of her stood none other than Severus Snape. Her heart clenched as she took in the boy who had once been her closest friend. All through summer, he'd tried to talk to her, contact her, bur she'd kept her distance, and even though she knew it was bound to happen, it was still a shock to see him up close like this. He'd grown a few inches over summer, she noticed, so now he was a lot taller than her. She knew he'd always been desperate to be tall when they were younger, and it looked like he'd finally got what he wanted. Surprisingly, the thought made a lump rise in her throat, and she swallowed thickly.

"Severus." she replied. There was a pause.

"I tried to talk to you, but you avoided me." he said, quietly, bitterly. God, he sounded hurt. Lily's heart thudded painfully in her chest.

"I know." She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Sev, I really am. But us, this-" she gestured between them. "... this was never going to work. We can't be friends... we just can't." She turned to leave.

"But why not Lily?" he asked, his eyes desperate. "Why can't we be mates? You know how much I regretted saying it; you know how sorry I am-"

"It's not that, Sev." she snapped, her eyes burning as her patience waned. "I'm over it, I've forgiven you. But you're a different person now. You've changed, can't you see that? You're still frightened to talk to me in front of your Slytherin friends - Mulciber, Avery, Stebbins; you're still obsessed with the dark arts, like them."

"I-"

"No, Sev. No excuses. If anyone's got dirty blood - it's you. I can no longer be your friend, because I can no longer enjoy your company, with your infatuation with the dark arts. Goodbye." She turned to leave, once again, but he stopped her.

"Lily, wait-" she turned back, her eyes still fiery, but glossy now, too.

"No. I'm done waiting, Sev!" she exclaimed, angrily. "Waiting for you to change, waiting for you to care about me, to actually treat me like a friend-"

"What's going on here?" demanded a voice - it was low, gruff, angry. Lily turned and found herself face to face with Mulciber, one of the nasty Slytherins whom Snape hung around with. His dark hair fell around his eyes, which glinted with malice. Next to him stood Avery and a younger boy Lily barely recognized - was his name Barty? She wasn't sure, but he looked excited to be there - it was probably a privilege in their house to be chosen to hang around with Mulciber. He was one of the nastiest students she knew, probably coming close to Bellatrix Lestrange. Lily could feel herself becoming increasingly angrier - he was the one who had hexed Mary McDonald, (a cheerful fifth-year), last year, and caused her to be admitted to the hospital wing for the weekend. Severus spoke before she could.

"I was just passing Evans on the way to the prefect cabin." he explained, coolly. So, Snape was a prefect too. Great, thought Lily. Mulciber's eyebrows burrowed with suspicion.

"It didn't look like you were just passing. I though this friendship-" he snarled the word. "-was over."

"It is." snapped Lily, ignoring the pain that pricked her chest at the words. Mulciber grinned, an ugly grin, and pulled out his wand.

"I don't believe you." Lily's heart rate accelerated.

"It's true." intervened Severus, frowning. "We no longer associate with each other." Mulciber looked between them with a calculating look in his eye and pocketed his wand. Lily sighed in relief.

"Well..." He spoke slowly, drawing out his words. "If that's so... why don't you disarm her, Severus?" he asked, in a curious voice. He was still grinning horribly. Lily glanced at Severus, uncertainly, who had gone as white as a sheet. "Or..." continued Mulciber. Why don't you call her the name that made her hate you?" His voice was mocking - he was enjoying this. Lily's hands shook slightly, as her breath caught in her throat. He wouldn't. Sev wouldn't, not again. She turned away from the Slytherins, and looked right into his eyes, which were wide with fear. "Go on, Snape." Mulciber coaxed venomously.

"Sev." she whispered, so only he could hear. Her heart was thudding so loudly, she was surprised no one else could hear it. There was a long, painful pause, and then-

"Mudblood." He said it quietly, avoiding her gaze. There was a moment of silence, where Lily felt like someone had basked her in cold water. Hurt pricked at her chest as Mulciber's dark laugh blasted in her ears. She turned and fled down the corridor, wiping away the stray tears and breathing deeply. He was lost to her.

She took a deep breath, and rubbed her face, trying to calm her thudding heart. How could he? How could he do it again? Her first day back at Hogwarts, and she knew it couldn't get any worse.

That was, until she saw James Potter.

"Evans!" His face lit up as he saw her, and she glared at him in return. She wasn't in the mood for this. He was wearing a blue shirt and jeans, since he hadn't changed into his school robes yet, and was leaning casually across the corridor, blocking the way. The arm he leant on was bent in such a way that the muscles on it stuck out, and Lily rolled her eyes internally. Cocky git. Her gaze trailed up to his face where he wore a crooked smile, his brown eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Move out of the way, Potter. I'm busy." she snapped. He grinned.

"Prefect meeting, right? Moony's going too, but it doesn't start for another fifteen minutes.'' He grinned again, obviously proud of his superior knowledge. "Why the rush?" Lily groaned internally - he was so incredibly irritating.

"Because I wanted to go early! Why don't you keep your nose out of other people's business?!" she exclaimed.

"I was just..." His crooked grin faltered as he looked carefully at her face. "Are you okay Evans? You look like you've been... crying." He looked so confused and concerned, that she had to take a deep breath to stop the tears from spilling over once again. She couldn't deal with more people mocking her.

"I'm fine, Potter, I just want to go to the prefect's cabin." She bit her lip, which had started to tremble. He was frowning.

"But-"

"Potter, move." Something in her voice must have made him relent because he moved out the way and she marched into the empty prefect compartment, slamming the door behind her. She sank into the seat and tried very, very hard not to cry.

It wasn't long until the other prefects showed up, but by this time Lily had calmed herself, and formed a pleasantly detached expression. Remus came to sit by her and greeted her with a smile. His amber eyes were glistening with warmth, and his skin pale seemed to glow through the shabby clothes he wore. He stretched out his thin legs, and told her how glad he was that Frank was the new head boy, giving no indication that Potter had said anything to him which was good. She knew Remus would hold actual concern for her, sweet as he was, and she wasn't in the mood for fuss. She could forget the whole Snape fiasco had ever happened. Colin was there too - he flashed her a grin as he sat down, making her blush. She hoped no one saw.

Addie left the carriage a little while after Lily, on the pretence of going to find Alice. Truthfully, she just didn't want to talk about boys any longer. The conversation was boring the life out of her - it wasn't anything like the train ride she'd been looking forward to.

As she walked along the train, she noticed James leaning out the window in the cramped corridor. He held an unlit cigarette between his lips as the cool wind whipped his messy hair about. "Hey Potter!" she called, and he turned to her, looking miserable. They were close friends, considering they were both chasers on the quidditch team, and both had similar sense of humours, (though Addie liked to think of herself as more mature than the marauder), so a worried line appeared on her forehead. James had always made her laugh, and they'd been mates since he'd helped her out in second year. A third year Slytherin had jinxed her, so he'd summoned a box of dragon plasters from his trunk for her scraped knee, before he and Sirius had given the said attacker a face full of pimples. From then on, they'd looked out for each other, so she stopped by.

"Come on James, you can't be depressed already - we're not even at school yet." she joked, trying to cheer him up. He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, and pocketed his cigarette.

"Hey, Addie." He pulled her into a hug. Internally, she commented on how he'd grown - her head barely reached his chest now. Why was it boys always shot up over the holidays? "You alright?"

"I'm fine." She frowned as he released her. "But since when did you start smoking?"

"Oh, that…" He looked away, embarrassed. "Bad habit I picked up over summer. I guess I had a lot on my mind."

"I can see that." She crossed her arms, but refrained from lecturing him. Obviously, he didn't need one right now.

James changed the subject, throwing her a sheepish grin. "Good summer?"

"Alright." she shrugged. "Six weeks with two screaming seven year olds is always a blast… You?" His lips twitched, then fell. _Damn_ , she knew she'd been close to a smile.

"Yeah. It was fun."

"You spent it with Sirius, right? He moved in?"

"Yeah." James looked confused. "Did he tell you?"

"Oh, no." She blushed. Sure, she and Sirius had sent letters in the summer, and each one had been full of jokes and funny stories, but he hadn't divulged that private piece of information.

Not wanting to sound as though she'd been prying, she shook her head. "No, Remus mentioned it in a letter." Her heart had ached for Sirius when she heard. Remus hadn't gone into detail, (he wasn't one to gossip about people's problems), but she knew that Sirius's parents weren't nice people, and something terrible must have happened for him to actually run away from home. It took bravery to do something like that, no matter how horribly you were treated.

"Oh."

"He's... he's okay now though, isn't he? Sirius, I mean."

James looked away, and Addie thought for a moment he didn't want to reply. But then he spoke. "Yeah. He... I don't think he really wants to talk about it. Not to me, or to Moony, though we've both tried."

"It must have been awful." Addie felt so sorry for him - though she knew Sirius hated people's pity - and sympathy leaked into her voice. James only nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"So, what's got you down?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." He ran a hand through his hair - something he'd done for as long as she could remember, and she knew irritated Lily to no end. "Just thinking, is all."

"Right." She smiled gently, getting the hint that he wanted to be alone. James was usually full of high spirits, constantly mucking around with Sirius and cracking jokes, but when he was feeling gloomy, they'd learnt over the year she was better left alone. "Well, don't think too much James - it's bad for you, you know." A grin played on her lips. "I think I'll go find Alice. See you at the feast."

She began to walk away, but he called her back.

"Hey, Addie! Wait a sec." He ran a hand through his hair, again, as she turned around expectantly.

"I was just wondering... has Lily mentioned a Colin Dawkins, at all?"

"That Ravenclaw doofus?" James's mouth twitched up at her quick insult, and Addie raised her eyebrows. "No she hasn't."

"Oh, good." He looked considerably happier.

"Any reason in particular?"

"Nothing you should worry about. Just something Peter said he saw earlier..." He coughed uncomfortably, and Addie tried to hide her grin. The reason was pretty obvious. "So… you're going to see Alice?" he asked. "Are you sure you don't want to have a game of exploding snap with us lot? Remus is at the prefect meeting, so there's only three of us to lose against." He grinned, and Addie laughed.

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your male bonding time." she joked. James's chuckled and Addie tried to hide her smile, happy that he finally seemed to be.

"Nah, you're good. We could use a fresh pair of hands to win against. Peter's getting fed up of having his skin seared off." He grinned again.

"Well, when you put it like that... I do _love_ a good challenge."

When Addie entered the compartment with James, she raised her eyebrows at the mess they'd made. Various food wrappers and half eaten chocolate bars littered the seats and floor; scorch marks had stained the walls; and a few bottles of firewhisky had been placed on the spare seat. Addie didn't have a clue how they'd sneaked it on the train, or how they planned to sneak it up to their dorms, but she didn't particularly _want_ to know. It seemed, without Remus to tame them, Sirius and James were more than slightly out of control. She dreaded to think what James's mother had been through over the summer. I mean, she knew they were messy, but this... "In my defense, the chocolate belongs to Remus." James muttered, before turning to the marauders.

"I bought a replacement Moony!" he announced, fluffing Addie's hair. She shoved him off, non-too gently.

Peter smiled at her, from where he sat, leaning against the wall, holding a Bertie Bott's box. "Hullo, Addie. How was your summer?"

"Only average, I'm afraid." she replied, smiling. "Yours?"

"It was okay." muttered Peter, popping a sweet in his mouth. "But these goons made me and Remus play them at quidditch, even though they _know_ we suck." He grimaced at the foul taste.

"Peter will never get over the humiliation." smirked Sirius, as Addie sat down opposite him.

He smiled at her, looking as handsome as ever with his dancing grey eyes and smoky, dark hair, (not that she'd ever tell him that - god knows he didn't need his head inflating anymore), and she sighed. Even the way he sat suggested that he _belonged_ , his arms folded casually against his chest and his legs stretched along the row of seats with elegance. She on the other hand, was the definition of clumsy: a slightly dorky individual with hair messier than James's.

"So, Addie, who do you want to play first?" asked Peter.

"I think Peter meant to ask who you want to _lose_ to first." Sirius added, casually, though his eyes were smiling.

"I'm pretty sure I could beat you all actually." she commented. James laughed sceptically, shoving Sirius's feet down carelessly, so he could take a seat.

"Are you _absolutely_ positive about that, Miss Reid?" Sirius's smirk was playful, mischievous, and she raised her eyebrows.

"I can assure you, _Mr Black_ , I won't lose."

He laughed a bark-like laugh, knowing Addie well enough to hear the stubbornness in her voice. "Hmm, brave words, brave words. We'll see, won't we?"

"We will."

She lost all her games, but refused to admit it.

A few hours later, after a particularly gruelling prefect meeting, where Snape _wouldn't_ stop staring at her, they reached the school. Lily met with Marlene, who was chatting to Alice and Helda, and they walked to the place where carriages would take them up to gates; Jo had detached herself from them, which was a relief, along with Mary, and so the girls could walk and chat freely together. Lily didn't mention her run-in with the slytherins, but she couldn't help but throw a glare at Mulciber when she caught him glowering at her from the queue of people waiting to get in a carriage.

Addie ran up to them, flushed and breathless.

"Where have you been?" asked Lily, her eyebrows raised.

She paused to catch her breath. "I ran into the marauders."

"The marauders? They didn't prank you, did they?" she asked. "It's not like them to plan something on the train ride up, but then, without Remus there..." Addie laughed.

"No, we played exploding snap. It was rather fun actually." Addie grinned. "Though I did lose."

"I see." Lily smiled knowingly and the five girls clambered into a carriage, waiting for it to depart. Alice asked the others if Lily had told them about her little run in with Colin, and when it became apparent that she hadn't, she filled them in, to Lily's embarrassment.

Addie was now starting to understand what James was 'thinking' about.

Just before they were about to leave, the carriage door opened and a blonde head popped in. It was Colin. He smiled at the girls in front of him. "Is there any room in here?" he asked. Alice grinned.

"I think there's a seat next to Lily." she said, giggling as Lily tried desperately not to go beetroot red. Colin skirted over to her and sat down. He was very close and Lily felt a little awkward, but threw him a shy smile anyway.

They made small talk on the way to the castle, and Lily found Colin did live up to the rumours - he was a very nice boy. He even helped her down the stairs leading off the carriage, which made her feel very flustered, but warm inside. And every time he shot her a grin... well, her stomach did a little flip.

As she departed, Addie noticed that James was staring from a little further away as Colin left to meet his Ravenclaw friends, and she grimaced inwardly as she spotted his expression.

Alice, not realising this, wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Soo?" she asked.

"I can't believe you told him to sit with me, Alice, it was _so_ embarrassing." Lily laughed. "But, you're right, he is nice." she admitted.

"Just nice?" repeated Marlene, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Come on guys, I barely know the guy! It's not like we're dating or anything."

"Yet." said Alice seriously, and Lily rolled her eyes. "Don't look so disbelieving. Who got an O in Divination, Evans? I can tell the _future_."

"You're such a liar." Marlene laughed. "And that O was only because you're Professor Bodi's Niece."

Alice only winked and turned back to her victim. "Oh, come on Lily, he's perfect for you! He's nice, intelligent _and_ ambitious. What more could you possibly want?"

"Colin's nice, but he's a bit boring." commented Addie, feeling like she owed it to the boy who was most probably eavesdropping. "She doesn't want to go out with a vain airhead like him. I'm sure there are plenty of boys that would be _dying_ to date Lily." James Potter, for instance.

Lily highly doubted it, since the only boys to ever show the least bit of interest in her were Colin, and Potter with his stupid game that had started in second year and never really ended, but she shrugged anyway. A new voice chimed in.

"At least Lily has a chance with Colin. Not like you and Black." Jo appeared, her arm linked with Mary's. She glared at Addie, who started.

"What are you on about, Jo?"

"Don't act like you don't know." The girl sneered. "I _saw_ you with him and the marauders!"

Addie's temper spiked. "What does that have to do with you? They're my mates."

"Yeah _sure_." The girl replied sarcastically. Addie reached for her wand, her anger getting the better of her.

"Jo, I really don't know what you're getting at." frowned Marlene, interrupting before a fight could break out.

Jo scowled. "Don't you remember? Sirius and I were together last year! And now this _slut_ has come and stolen him."

Lily clenched her fists. "How dare you call Addie a-"

"It was _hardly_ a thing, Jo." Interrupted Alice. "You just snogged at a couple of parties."

"And I didn't steal him. We're just friends." added Addie.

"Liar." Spat Jo. Addie didn't understand what was up with the girl. She'd always been like this, a hurricane of emotions - one minute pleasant, the next full of rage. Addie couldn't keep up. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the other three marauders joining James, and Sirius cracking some kind of joke, making them all laugh. Her heart jumped into her throat. He _couldn't_ overhear this conversation.

"Look, Jo - me and Sirius are mates, nothing more. You said yourself I'd never have a chance with him."

"Doesn't change the fact that you want to." Growled Jo.

"But I _don't-_ "

"You have a boyfriend, Harrington." Alice reminded her, glaring. "It really shouldn't affect you."

"It doesn't. I just wanted Addie to-"

She never got to finish.

"What's going on here, ladies?" came a pleasant voice. James appeared, followed closely by the other marauders. Remus wore a small frown, but Sirius was smiling. Addie flushed, her heart withering up internally. How could this get any worse?

Jo's voice immediately became sweeter. "Oh, _hi_ boys, didn't see you there. We were just discussing Addie's er… very limited experience with boys. Oh, and the fact that she fancies Sirius." Addie glowed redder, and stared at a spot in the trees, determined not to look at him. _God_ _I hate her_ , she thought, silently cursing the witch as her fingers itched to pull out her wand.

"She does?" He sounded surprised, and tears pricked at Addie's eyes. Of course he would sound surprised - she was Addie Reid and he was Sirius Black. They were polar opposites.

"Uh-hu." Jo giggled. She was _asking_ for a punch.

"Addie?" She could almost picture him trying not to laugh at how pathetic she was.

"No." she mumbled, glancing at him.

He nodded firmly. "Right."

"Stop _lying_ Addie. Did you know she's never kissed a boy, Sirius? She's sixteen - how embarrassing." Right, that was it. She'd put up with a lot of crap over the years, and just because Jo was supposedly her _friend_ , she wouldn't be treated any different. Addie pulled out her wand, and pointed it right at Jo's chest.

"Shut _up_ , you little-"

"Are you really going to hex me, Addie?" Jo asked, sceptically. "And risk getting suspended? You're not even in the _castle_ yet."

Helda tugged her back. "She's right, Addie." she warned. "Don't do anything you'll regret."

Jo laughed it off, looking relieved despite her brave words and turning back to the marauders. "The whole thing's kind of sad really, even Addie thinks so. You know, I reckon Mary's little sister's done more than her - and she's a firstie!"

She giggled, but she was the only one. This time Alice reached for her wand, and Lily looked murderous.

"Jo, that's _enough_." whispered Mary, glancing nervously at the angry girls.

"I think Mary's right, _Jo_." Sirius said conversationally. "You really should shut up. And anyway, I reckon Addie's got more experience than you think." His voice was light hearted, but carried a steely undertone, and Addie's head shot to him in confusion.

"Plus," continued Sirius, "I have much more respect for the girl who keeps her 'experience' - as you so politely put it - to themselves and doesn't feel the need to blab about it to everyone else."

Her heart soared as she saw Jo Harrington's red, spluttering face. "Well, I..."

" _Furthermore_ ," He was enjoying himself now. "I don't particularly want to engage in a conversation with someone who finds putting down others, to make themselves look better, entertaining."

James was laughing quietly now.

"So, if you'll excuse me, my friends and I are rather hungry." He stalked off, with James, Peter and Remus in tow, all smirking, though James cast a side-long glance at Lily before he departed. After a moment, Addie, Lily, Marlene, Alice, and Helda followed close behind, leaving a hot-faced Jo, and a startled Mary behind them.

"That was bloody brilliant, Padfoot." commented James, as they approached the castle.

"Beyond brilliant." agreed Peter.

Sirius smirked. " _She'll_ never snog me at the Christmas party again, that's for sure." he joked, but there was some kind of other emotion in his eyes. He bent down to tie his shoelace, and when he looked up, it was gone. Remus was the only one who noticed, but he stayed quiet as they traipsed up to the castle.

If Sirius was the best at anything, it was hiding how he felt.

They girls entered the great hall with the rest of the swelling crowd and took their seats at the Gryffindor table, next to Alice's boyfriend Frank. Jo and Mary sat right down the far end. Lily congratulated Frank on getting head boy, since she hadn't had chance to in the prefect meeting, and they settled down to watch the sorting.

The frightened faces surveyed them all from the front, and Lily felt sorry for the small first years, remembering how nervous she'd felt before her sorting. She didn't recognize any of the young ones, apart from Mary's little sister, Grace, who she'd met a few times. The girl looked like she'd been dragged through a hedge, with the thick brown hair that Mary had barely learned how to tame, and eyes that seemed too big for her small, pale face. She stood a couple of inches smaller than everyone else and looked like a deer caught in headlights.

The Sorting Hat began its song and they applauded as it finished with a flourish. One by one, the first years stepped up for their sorting, and the relief on their faces afterwards was almost comical. Lily clapped loudly with the rest of Gryffindor as Grace was sorted into their house, following the tradition of Mary's family and made her way over to her sister, who smiled. Lily turned her attention back to Dumbledore, who had stood up now the sorting was over.

The headmaster was as jubilant and upbeat as usual, as he talked about Filch's new rules and the year ahead, but just before he finished, his words hinted at something slightly darker.

"And just before we gorge ourselves with these scrumptious treats before us," he said, twinkling down at them all. "I believe it should do us all some good to remember that no matter what takes place beyond our walls, Hogwarts will remain united. United in our bravery, in our determination, in our wisdom, and in our loyalty. Now, eat!"

The weight of his words was somewhat lost as the tables filled with food in front of them and chatter began throughout the hall. Lily helped herself to a slice of shepherd's pie as she laughed with her friends, looking forward to the year ahead.

A year that hopefully wouldn't revolve around Jo Harrington and her psychotic tendencies.


	2. Whispered Warnings

Whispered Warnings

Moonlight bathed the trees around them in an eerie light as the five teenagers trekked deeper into the forest. The greenery seemed to go on forever, a world of shadows and trees, but Addie didn't feel alone- she could hear the crunching of leaves around her and feel the warmth emanating from the four bodies which stood close to her, pushing through the branches and making their way down the winding forest path.

In the distance, they could hear the faint babble of voices, as students feasted in the great hall, and occasionally a stomach would rumble- at first it was just James and Sirius's, but soon they were all starving. "You guys can always go back, you know." Addie told them for the umpteenth time. "It's getting late and-"

"We're not leaving you out here alone, Addie." Remus said, softly, as they traipsed along the path. He lifted back a branch for the girl to step past, and she replied with a grateful smile. Addie had ended up at the back, since she had the smallest legs, but Remus stayed close, helping her through.

"Yeah we know the forest better than anyone." Sirius stated. There was a pause.

"Are you sure she's in here, Ads?" Donna finally called to the back, her voice muffled by the thick throng of trees.

"Yeah, I'm positive." Addie said firmly. She knew the girl couldn't have gotten past her, and she wasn't sure why, but she was almost _certain_ that she was in this forest, and that they had to find her soon.

Remus checked his watch again. "They'll still be eating. I'd say we've got plenty of time… Another half hour at least."

"Good. We'll keep looking then." Addie responded. It felt like they'd been calling out for a while, maybe an hour or so, but since they didn't know this mysterious blue-haired girls name, as Sirius had so _helpfully_ pointed out, the task was even trickier.

They walked for a few minutes in comfortable silence, with only the sound of rustling leaves and the tread of their footsteps, when Sirius's hushed voice echoed around them.

"Did you hear that?"

The hair on Addie's neck immediately stood up, hearing the alarm in his voice, and both her and Remus stopped dead in their tracks.

"I hear it too." whispered Remus.

It was deadly silent for a heartbeat, as they all listened intently, trying to catch the sound of whatever danger was approaching- but Addie could hear nothing except from the familiar bristle of branches as the wind scattered lone leaves. She strained her ears, but obviously she didn't have as good hearing as the boys did, because moments later, James's panicked voice rang through the forest.

" _Run_! Left, now!"

They followed his orders without a moment's hesitation, racing through the forest at break-neck speed, shoving branches and brambles out the way. Addie's breath came in pants and she slipped on a root, but a second later a strong pair of hands had pulled her onto her feet.

"Keep on going." Sirius's voice was harsh in her ear as he egged her on, and they ran together, crashing and thrashing through the undergrowth.

They finally reached a clearing, where James stood with his hands on his knees, panting, and Darlene lay on the floor. Remus was holding onto a large sycamore, taking deep breaths.

"What _was_ that?" Sirius asked, once they'd recovered, his eyes wide.

"I don't know." James admitted. "But I think we better…" he trailed off as something stepped took a crunchy step forward behind Addie and Sirius- something that made James's face pale and his eyes go wide in fear.

" _Merlin's_ _beard_." he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "… Addie, Sirius, don't panic… Just, er, walk slowly walk towards me-"

But before they could move, there was a loud roar, and the huge creature bounded over their heads, right into the centre of the clearing.

Addie gasped.

It was a huge lion- a huge _blue_ lion, for that matter.

"It's beautiful." Darlene whispered, her face one of shock as the creature walked round in a circle, eyeing them curiously and shaking its mane. It was big, yes, but Addie wouldn't necessarily have described it as 'beautiful'.

"It's bloody _huge_." James sad, his eyes wide.

"No shit, Prongs." Sirius muttered, but he too was pale.

James scowled at him. "And when was the last time _you_ saw a lion in a forest, Padfoot?"

Addie snorted and the creature's head swung towards her sharply, immediately cutting off her laugh. She stayed completely still, not daring to breath, but the lion seemed to relax again. It carried on preening itself, seeming to enjoy the attention.

They watched it for a while, not daring to move, and after a few minutes of silence, Sirius glanced around at his friends. "So, do we just back away, or…"

Before he could finish, however, he was interrupted by a throaty growl. The creature's eyes widened and it's back arched up as if it had been electrocuted. It growled again, but the sound faded into a high-pitched squeak, as an odd tremor rippled across its body. The creature's eyes widened, and it crouched down to the floor, twitching and trembling like it was having some sort of seizure. The five friends shared a look as the lion convulsed, unsure what to do… but as it turned out, they didn't have to worry. Suddenly, the lion began to change before their eyes, its large head shrinking, as its roar's became squeaky whispers. The students could do nothing but watch as the lion transformed, and a moment later a girl was stood in front of them. She had striking blue hair.

"Hello." she said sheepishly, fiddling with her robe.

They all stared.

"Bloody hell…. you're a… you're a _lion_?" James exclaimed, his eyes wide.

The girl nodded, though somewhat nervously. "I… I didn't mean to scare you… but I'm Brenda. Brenda Wang… I'm a metamorphmagus."

"A metamorphmagus?" Remus repeated. "That's… that's amazing."

"I didn't know they could turn into animals." Darlene admitted, frowning. "I thought metamorphmagus's could just change their normal appearance… like their hair and stuff."

"They can only change into one." Remus explained. "It's meant to be fitting to their personality… kind of like an animagus." He turned back to Brenda. "But I've never met a metamorphmagus before. It's incredible."

He was looking at her with such raw astonishment, that Brenda blushed. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone." she muttered "My parents have just agreed to let me go here, after Dumbledore promised to keep my… ability a secret."

"Why would they want to do that?" James asked, frowning.

"I guess they're scared I'll be an outcast, that people will laugh at me. That's why I was upset earlier- those girls were laughing at my hair." She rushed on, avoiding their gazes. "My parents' home schooled me themselves for four years because they were afraid of that kind of thing."

Remus's eyes were soft. "I understand." he said, "but people aren't really like that here… apart from some of the Slytherins, that is."

Sirius glanced between the two of them. "Remus is right, you wouldn't be treated badly here. And you don't have to be an outcast. My cousin Andromeda, she had a baby girl over the summer, and they think she may be one… a metamorphmagus, that is. One minute her hairs red, and the next it's bright yellow." He smiled. "But the thing is, I don't reckon Roma will bring her up to be scared of who she is… and maybe you shouldn't either."

Addie smiled at him fondly. "Sirius is right." she said softly. "We're not saying you should tell the world, but don't hide part of yourself."

Brenda nodded, her eyes shining with tears. "Thank you, really- all of you. For coming after me… and for helping me out."

"Don't sweat it." James said, grinning. "But we better get back to the castle."

A quarter of an hour later, they arrived in the Great Hall just as everybody was finishing their main courses. People barely batted an eyelid except from McGonagall, whose expression was a mixture of disapproval and relief, and Jo, who was openly glaring.

"Where on earth _were_ you?" Lily exclaimed, as Darlene and Addie sat down next to her at the table.

"And why are you so dirty?" Marlene added, gesturing to their muddy robes.

Addie grimaced. "Do you want to explain it, or should I?" she asked Darlene, who rolled her eyes.

" _Basically_ ," The brunette witch began, "we got into an argument with Jo, who accused Addie of stealing Sirius from her like the crazy bitch she is, and then we went searching the woods for a random blue-haired girl who was crying."

At that moment, Breda quietly slipped into the hall, her eyes skirting around nervously.

"Her." Darlene said, pointing at the girl.

Lily's gaze softened. "She looks frightened." The red-head said, frowning. She turned back to the others. "But that doesn't explain why you were searching for her? Who is she?"

Darlene and Addie glanced at each other. As much as they trusted their friends, they'd all promise to keep Brenda's secret a secret, and they couldn't break that trust.

"She's a transfer student." Darlene explained, "She was just worried I think, you know, about starting a new school."

"I see." Lily glanced curiously at Brenda again. "I wonder what house she's in?"

Addie frowned. She hadn't thought of that herself. She presumed that they'd sorted her beforehand, since it would be more embarrassing for the girl to have to go up with the first years. She made a note to ask her if she saw her around.

"So what _exactly_ happened with Jo?" Alice asked, frowning. She was a small girl- the smallest of them all, with short, choppy brown hair that fell to her shoulders, and pixie like features. Lily had been friends with her since second year, and she'd quickly become closer to the other girls, who had enjoyed her sarcastic humour.

Darlene explained the whole story, and by the time she was done, they were all furious.

"How _dare_ she?" fumed Lily. "I have half a mind to-"

Addie rolled her eyes, interrupting. "It's not as if this is new information, we all know what Jo's like."

"But still…" Lily looked like she could murder someone, so Marlene quickly changed the subject.

James was sulking as he swirled his spoon around the bowl of chocolate pudding, his expression dejected. It seemed as though his good mood from their adventure had evaporated, as he was left to his thoughts. Sirius had given up trying to cheer him up and was now trying to turn an unsuspecting slytherin's hair pink from across the room, but Remus watched him worriedly.

"It's only the first day back Prongs, surely you can't be miserable already?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood. James didn't reply, and Sirius, drawing his eyes from the task at hand, frowned at his friend.

"What _is_ the matter with you, Prongs? You're acting a bit put out to say the least." James sighed.

"Lily seemed upset on the train, and I couldn't work out why." he mumbled. There was a pause. Then-

"That's it?'' Sirius exclaimed. ''That's actually _it_? You can't be serious. The reason you're moping around and looking like somebody died, is just because little Lily-kins was upset?" He looked at him incredibly and James shot him a glare.

"I just couldn't work out what was wrong- I was _thinking_."

"Well you're not doing a very good job of it." remarked Sirius, going back to his earlier assignment. "Take it from me, girls get upset a lot. It could be over boys, over school, over- darn it, stay _still_ Rodgers- arguments, loads of stupid stuff." James still looked sulky.

"I've never seen Lily really upset though, apart from after Snivellus called her, you know...'' He paused. "...that." Remus nodded, whilst he watched Sirius with a frown.

"Me either James... You know, Padfoot, I _am_ a prefect. I could put you in detention for that." he commented, taking a bite of his apple pie. Sirius flashed him a smile, not taking his eyes off of his targets head, which was slowly turning a salmon colour.

"But you wouldn't Moony; you love me far too much." Remus rolled his eyes and took another bite, turning his attention back to James.

"Lily seemed perfectly fine in the prefect meeting- I'm sure it was just a moment of weakness… and she's perfectly alright now. Look at her." He gestured to where she was laughing with her friends, her eyes bright, but James only scowled harder.

"That's only because she had Mr I'm-A-Perfect-Ravenclaw-Prefect to cheer her up." he grumbled, stabbing his fork a little too viscously into a macaroon.

"So _that_ 's what this is all about." grinned Sirius, who was now watching with enjoyment as the pink haired boy grabbed at his hair frantically and glared around the room as Peter snorted into his pudding. Normally, James too would have laughed at the sight, but he was too mournful. "Jamesie's got the jealousy bug."

"I have not." scowled James. "I just figured nothing was going on there- Addie told me she hadn't said anything."

"Maybe she lied?" offered Peter. The boy had been happily eating his way through a stack of sausages when they found him, and had seemed rather relieved that he hadn't joined their expedition into the forest once they'd finished telling him the story, so there was no harm done. "To make you feel better. I told you I saw them together this morning."

"Nah, Reid wouldn't lie." Sirius muttered, still distracted.

"But he was in their _carriage_."

"You're ten times the man Colin Dawkins is anyway." said Remus, with a knowing smile. "Just because they beat you last year at the Quidditch cup, doesn't mean he's a better chaser."

"Though he is rather good." declared Peter, who was now sat quietly next to Remus, gorging on Victoria sponge.

"No, he's rubbish, and they won on a fluke last year. We'll murder them this time." said James, passionately.

"Yeah." agreed Sirius, finally giving them his full attention. The Slytherin boy had fled from the hall, his face an angry shade of red that clashed horribly with his hair. "The Ravenclaw's win was based purely on luck, and it was the dirtiest game I've ever seen."

"Not as bad as that Slytherin one in third year." replied James. "Blimey, I thought I'd never see the light of day after that." He grinned, perking up considerably at the mention of quidditch.

They talked tactics for the rest of the meal, and James forgot all about Lily and a certain pompous Ravenclaw. That was, until he set eyes on her leading first years out of the hall, her flaming red hair making her hard to miss, and a smile set on her lips. His stomach erupted every time be saw her- not that he'd tell the other Marauders that, since they'd surely mock him into his grave- and he wished that someday she'd smile at him, but her face seemed set on making that familiar disapproving, exasperated expression whenever she laid eyes on him, no matter what he'd tried to do to change that.

They shared a glance and her face did just that- her mouth becoming tight-lipped and her eyes slightly more fiery than usual, as though she blamed _him_ for dragging her friends out into the forest, and then she turned on her heel, the Gryffindor's following her to the common room.

They arrived at Gryffindor tower and Lily proclaimed the password to the Fat Lady loudly, so everyone could hear. When the door swung open, she showed the first years their dorms and then let the crowds disperse, some people opting to go up to their dorms, and some making themselves comfortable in the common room. The marauders lounged in their usual spot by the fire and Lily went to join her friends, who were sat around in the comfy armchairs. Marlene greeted her as she settled down.

"You lead them well." she remarked with a smile. "Did you see how nervous those little ones were?"

Lily nodded. "They were adorable. God, I can't imagine us lot being that small."

"Neither can I. I'm sure we were never that cute either." laughed Marlene. She paused and then smiled at Lily. "I hate to tell you this, Lils, but a certain someone won't stop staring at you." Lily whirled around in her seat and groaned when she spotted Potter looking her way. His expression brightened as she caught his eye and she flung back around with a growl.

"He is the most annoying person I have _ever_ met." she grumbled, making Alice and Marlene laugh. Addie raised her eyebrows.

"He's not _that_ bad.'' she defended. "I'd say Colin's more annoying.''

"No, Potter's definitely the worst. He can't just smile, he's got to shoot you that stupid, crooked grin of his. It makes me sick." Addie sighed, knowing she wasn't getting anywhere, and Lily glanced at her, a question on her lips.

"That was Susan's little sister I saw at the front, right?" asked Frank, before the red-head could speak, sitting down. He was a tall, gangly boy, with a round face and gentle smile, and Lily had never seemed Alice happier than when she was with him- she was positively glowing, even now.

"Yeah." Alice replied. "She was the one with the huge hair and the startled expression." She sounded distasteful, and Lily poked her playfully, gently reminding her to be nice. Grace couldn't be blamed for Susan's unwavering loyalty to her horrible friend.

"Where is Susan?" frowned Frank.

"Don't ask." Alice warned him, and he raised his eyebrows, but stayed quiet. Frank had a way knowing when to comment and when to leave things, and it was one of the things that Lily liked most about him.

"So, where did-" he started, but stopped suddenly as a new figure joined the group. Grace stood next to Frank's seat, looking almost as frightened as she had in the hall. They looked at her and she faltered.

"I... I was wondering if you'd seen my sister." Her voice was a whisper and Lily barely made out her words, but she smiled at the girl.

"Sorry." she replied. "I think she might have already gone upstairs."

"Right." Grace said, but she didn't move.

"Did you want something?" Alice asked kindly, after a pause.

"Well…" The girl fiddled with her hands, nervously. "It's nothing really. It's just…" Her words came out in a rush. "I heard some students as I was coming out of the hall. They were laughing, and they weren't saying very nice things."

Frank frowned. "What did they look like?"

"The girl had brown hair, and the boy's was black... he had scary eyes. I think they were in Slytherin- well, they were wearing green robes."

"Mulciber." Addie muttered, disgust apparent in her voice as she thought of the seventh year.

"What did they say?" Frank insisted.

She gulped, her voice barely audible. "They said… ' _This will be the year that they pay. All of them_.'"

Grace would reveal no more, and she soon scarpered off to bed.

Once they had watched her disappear, Marlene was the first to speak. "Well… what do you think it means?" she muttered, twisting a piece of her hair anxiously.

"I don't know." Alice's eyes were guarded. "But it can't be good."

Marlene hesitated. "… do you think we should we tell someone?"

"No." frowned Lily. "It's just the Slytherins. Haven't they been saying this stuff for years? And anyway, it could mean _anything_ \- they might not even be talking about muggleborns."

Alice looked at her sceptically, but Lily lowered her voice, sounding serious.

"We can't go to Dumbledore or McGonagall with something like this." Seeing the others faces, she persisted. "We _can't_. They'd laugh in our faces. What's the proof? Something that a first year girl _thought_ she heard?"

Addie nodded. "She's right. We'd look stupid."

"Fine." Marlene sighed, leaning back in her seat. "But, we have to be careful- especially you two." She gestured to Lily and Addie. "If it _is_ muggleborns they're after…"

Addie rolled her eyes. "What, they're going to attack us right under Dumbledore's nose? Hogwarts is the safest place in the country. We're _fine_."

Alice nodded, but still looked worried.

They spoke for a while about the feast and the train ride, avoiding all mentions of their dorm mates and Slytherins, before retiring to bed. Alice and Frank went up first, shortly followed by Addie and Marlene. Lily stayed downstairs, promising she'd follow them up soon.

Fortunately, Susan was asleep, so there were no awkward interactions as the girls changed into their pyjamas, and said goodnight.

Addie lay back, wearing her favourite unicorn bottoms and grey t-shirt, (she'd thought the whole unicorn thing had been funny when she saw them in the muggle shop, though she'd never seen the creature in real life), and sighed as a certain dark-haired Gryffindor came to mind.

Sirius Black had been one of her best friends for years. How could Jo possibly think that she'd like him? That he'd like _her_? He was a marauder, for God sake, and dated girls that were far better looking than her- Dorcas Meadows, for one. Everybody knew that the beautiful seventh year had had an on-off thing with Sirius for the past year, and it would be crazy for Addie to think about him that way; she didn't have a clue what Jo was thinking. She knew he'd always seen her as just a friend, and that was how they'd always been. She laughed softly, thinking of the things he'd said to Jo, and soon, she fell into a slumber.

That was when the nightmare came.

Lily was still downstairs. The red-head had curled up in a ball on the little burgundy couch once her friends left, pulling the tattered blanket onto her lap. She had a lot on her mind, which was buzzing with faces- Jo, Susan, Snape, Colin, Grace... the day hadn't been at all as peaceful as she would have hoped, but, then again, it never was at Hogwarts. Especially with everything going on; the war brewing outside the castle walls had felt millions of miles away in their first few years at Hogwarts, but last year things had started to change- stories had started to spread; talks of muggles being murdered in cold blood; witches and wizards disappearing off the street… and it had truly started to feel as though they were at war.

She looked about the warm common room around her. A couple of students milled about, talking quietly, but most had gone to bed. Lily sighed. She knew she should go up too, but she felt pretty peaceful- that was, until James Potter appeared.

Why did he always show up at the worst possible times?

Surprisingly, he was twisting his hands in front of him, and didn't look like his usual cocky self as he approached her. He hovered by Lily's armchair as she scowled up at him.

"What do you want, Potter?" She asked, crossing her arms defensively. He sunk onto the leather chair closest to her, running a hand through his hair. The gesture irritated her.

"I just wanted to talk to you... about today." She stared at him, confused, until it hit her. Her crying fit. Ah. She'd forgotten about it in amongst all the drama with Jo.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Potter. Especially not with you. Now, if you don't mind, I-" she made to stand up, but he held out a hand to stop her.

"Please." She was startled by the pleading note in his voice. Potter had never said please in his life, she was certain. Slowly, reluctantly, Lily sat back down, her eyebrows raised. He ran his hands through his hair once again, this time seeming more agitated. She knew this was all part of his little game- the pretence that he fancied her which he had kept up for so long. But, she decided to go against her instinct and play along, for now.

"You didn't tell your friends." He was frowning, as though trying to figure out a hard puzzle, and it was a statement, not a question. For a moment she faltered, but then, remembering herself, she scowled.

"It's none of your business what I did and didn't do." she huffed, and a flicker of a smile passed across his face. But just as quickly it was gone.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Evans." The kind words sounded foreign in his mouth.

 _At least he's trying,_ she countered silently, but as soon as the thought slipped into her mind, she was disgusted at herself.

This was Potter. _James_ Potter. The boy who had spent the whole of his fourth year (and most of fifth year), hexing people in the corridors; who had bullied Severus and teased Lily mercilessly; who had always been so _incredibly_ irritating; who was forever getting into trouble, missing detention after detention; who she had spotted smoking several times for _all_ the wrong reasons, (not that there were any right reasons, but she knew James simply did it out of vanity), and who played on her heartstrings and played on her mind; who always made her angry, sometimes made her laugh, but who most of all, confused her until she was driven insane.

And that boy didn't have one compassionate bone in his body.

She sighed. "Why do you _care_ Potter?" Though she knew he didn't.

He started. "Well, I..."

"I knew it." she sighed. "You're making fun of me." She stood up once more, and he did too. But his expression was now angry, his hazel eyes burning.

"For Merlin's sake, I'm not making fun of you, Evans! I'm trying to _help_. Stop acting like I'm a bloody jerk and actually talk to me for once. Can't you be civil?"

She glared back at him. "Of course I can be civil!"

"Then start acting like it, instead of talking down to me like a… a stuck-up Cinderella!"

"Just because you've decided to play Prince charming, doesn't mean you can start throwing fairy tale names at me!" She paused. "How do you even know who Cinderella _is_?"

"I know more than you give me credit for, Evans."

"Ha. Don't make me laugh."

He sighed, realising they were getting nowhere. "Just tell me what the matter was. I want to know how I can help."

"Don't you see? No one can help." He tried to argue, but she cut him off. "Well… you _especially_ can't. I'm sure you can work out what I mean." His anger disapparated as confusion took its place, and then it hit him. She watched him closely, biting her lip.

"Snape." he said, quietly.

She nodded. "Do you see why I _don't_ want to talk about it now?"

"I... I guess so, Evans."

She turned to leave, and this time he let her, watching her walk to the staircase. When she reached the bottom, he called to her once more.

"Wait."

She turned around, sighing. "What?"

He faltered for a moment. In the dying light of the common room, she looked so beautiful- her glowing green eyes glittering, her hair a messy halo around her head.

"I..." As he hesitated, the words slipped from his tongue and he clamped his lips shut, sighing. "It's nothing." There was a pause. "Sleep well, Evans."

She looked at him, uncertainly, knowing he wanted to say more. But, finally, nodded.

"You too Potter."

James crept into his dorm, which was dark, avoiding various objects on the floor. He was just congratulating himself on his ninja worthy skills, when he slipped on something that felt curiously like a chocolate wrapper, making a loud thump as his bum hit the floor. A light flickered on.

"Where have you been, young man?" came Sirius's stern voice, as he sat, arms crossed, on his bed. James was speechless. "Well?" Sirius persisted. He burst out laughing at James's startled expression.

"I'm kidding, mate. But where _have_ you been?" He paused and then pouted. "You didn't go exploring the castle without me, did you?"

"No." James ran a hand through his hair. "I was talking to Evans."

"I see." Sirius raised his eyebrows, and James desperately wanted to wipe the smug expression off his face, but refrained from doing so.

James clambered into bed, and the marauders were quiet. He picked up a cigarette from the packet on his bedside table and placed it between his teeth.

Remus glared at him. "You are _not_ lighting one of those things in here, Prongs." he said sternly, and James rolled his eyes.

"Fine, _mum_."

"I don't know why you started. You were perfectly fine without them last year."

"Maybe I'm a different person this year." James countered, but he knew very well why he'd started. A certain red-head had been on his mind time and time again over summer. Too often.

Remus sighed. "Maybe you need to just try talking to Lily like a friend. Distance yourself a bit, you know?"

James frowned. "Distance myself? But she'll never know I like her then."

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "Trust me mate, if she doesn't know you like her by now mate, then she never will."

James flipped him off and then paused, thoughtfully, thinking about the argument they'd broken up today. "You don't… you don't _like_ Addie, do you Pads?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Addie?" Sirius frowned. "No. Addie's… Addie's like my sister."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Relief flooded James. If Addie got her heart broken by Sirius… it would be awkward, to say the least, and James would be stuck in the middle.

"Do you reckon she likes you, then?" Peter asked.

"No." he said flatly. "She said so, didn't she? And anyway, it doesn't matter- I don't like her, not in that way… it'd be weird."

"Weird, how?" Remus asked.

"Because it's Addie. Anyway, I don't go _out_ with girls, I go on dates with girls. Addie wouldn't want that."

James wriggled his eyebrows, grinning. "Maybe you'll become a changed man."

Sirius groaned, turning off the lights with a wave of his wand. "I'm going to bed, you gits."

Remus chuckled in the dark.

Lily was still stuffed from the feast and she should have fallen asleep quickly in her cosy bed, but, lying in the quiet dorm with nothing to distract her from her thoughts, Severus was on her mind, and now Potter was too. Why did he enjoy annoying the hell out of her? Why did he continue this stupid game? She knew as soon as she showed the slightest bit of interest in him, he would drop her- he would have won. She frowned. Even though Snape was nastier than Potter, at least he was easier to understand, in a way. Potter confused her. He muddled with her head.

She sighed and curled up, trying not to think of the person Severus was turning into, and only of the innocent boy he once was. But, she couldn't help but doubt herself. Had he ever been innocent? Or was she just kidding herself all these years? Had he always thought these horrible things about her, without realising it himself? No. She couldn't believe that. He was a good person, a kind person, once. It was those other people that had changed him- the ones that aspired to be Death Eaters, the ones who had dark humours and dark minds. It was their fault.

Finally, Lily slept, but she didn't realise that whilst she blamed people for turning Severus dark, they blamed her just as much for turning him soft.


	3. The Article

The Article

James awoke with a groan. His first night back at Hogwarts had been a restless one, and he'd had multiple dreams that all consisted of a certain redhead. Lily was still playing on his mind, unfortunately, and he mentally scolded himself for being so soft. So what, she hated him- he could overcome that challenge... somehow. And so what if he had competition? He was James Potter- he could easily take this Ravenclaw git. He was sure of it.

Feeling slightly better, he grabbed his glasses, pulled back the bedsheets and looked over at Remus, who was fully dressed, lying on his bed with a book in hand. James squinted at him, the morning light that filled the dormitory making his eyes ache.

"What time is it?" he asked the werewolf, yawning. Sirius was sprawled on his bed in amongst his messy sheets, wearing boxers, and Peter was snoring away, his mouth open as he slept. It was only their first morning back, but the main part of the dorm was already a tip with half unpacked trunks littering the floor and crumpled clothes scattered around. Remus's area, however, was spotless.

"Eleven." replied Remus, smirking. His eyes never left his book; James's, however, widened.

"Eleven?!" he squealed, jumping up. "But we'll be late for-"

"It's Saturday, James." Remus reminded him knowingly, without sparing him a glance. James sat down again, slowly, embarrassed at his reaction. Sirius would have ribbed him for it if he hadn't been unconscious.

"Right." He scratched his head. "Err… I didn't mean to…" Remus only smiled, and James quickly changed the subject. "I'm guessing we missed breakfast?" His stomach rumbled and Remus sighed, placing his book down. He plucked something off his bedroom cabinet and threw the croissant at James, who grinned and caught it easily. He bit into it, suddenly ravenous.

"Moony, you're the best." He nodded towards the other two boys. "Are there any left?"

"There's one for Sirius. I actually managed to wake up Peter, but he passed out again when we got back from the hall. I've never seen a boy eat so many bacon rolls- his eyes were drooping before he even reached the stairs." He grinned, but James pouted.

"And you couldn't have woken up me and Padfoot? They always do the best pancakes on Saturday." Remus rolled his eyes at his friend.

"James, I tried for fifteen minutes. You and Sirius are dead to the world when you sleep. It's like trying to wake up two trolls." He paused, thoughtfully. "Actually, it's like trying to wake up two _snoring_ trolls."

"I do not snore."

"Yes you do, James. Every single night."

"That's a blatant lie!"

"So, you've seen yourself sleeping." Remus rolled his eyes.

"I'd know. And anyway, if anyone does it's-"

"Morning lovebirds." Sirius's sleepy voice floated over to them. He stretched, cracking one eye open. "What's the huff about?"

"Moony said I snore." whined James.

"You do, Prongsie. Very much so..." He trailed off, sniffing the air. "Ooh, I smell food." Remus stared at James with amazement.

"How is it his nose is so good, again?" he wondered.

"He's basically a dog, Moony."

Remus shook his head as he grabbed another croissant and threw it at Sirius. "Thanks Moons." The half-naked boy replied, finishing his breakfast in mere seconds. "Hmm that's good. Now, where are my clothes?"

Remus woke up a drooling Peter as Sirius and James hunted the mess for their clothes. Eventually, after a slight scuffle over whose socks belonged to whom, and Sirius eventually letting James out of the jelly-legs jinx, Remus managed to clean up the dorm using his wand, allowing all the boys to get changed.

Fifteen long minutes later, they arrived in the common room.

Lily looked up as the Marauders entered from the boys' staircase. Potter and Black were laughing, as usual, and shoving each other around whilst Remus watched them fondly. Peter wore a slightly nervous grin, as if scared they were going to start shoving him too.

Remus caught her eye and came over to where she, Darlene, Addie and Marlene sat. He threw a questioning glance at Lily when he spotted Addie slumped in her seat, curled up and fast asleep. Lily smiled and shrugged. It seemed Addie was had slept less than she had.

"Morning." he said, as Marlene cheek's turned pink. Lily noticed his eyes flick over to her as he plopped down in a chair anyway and greeted them cheerfully. Remus wore a warm smile, and his amber eyes were quiet, but kind. He was very tall, the tallest out of the marauders, (though Sirius and James were close second), with long thin legs and a narrow frame, and in some ways, it made him look frailer- with his pale skin and pink lips; long, thin fingers and golden complexion- but his intelligent eyes had always made him seem strong, Lily thought.

"What's Alice up too?" he asked, noticing she wasn't around. Lily rolled her eyes, smiling.

"I think she's off with Frank somewhere. You know what those two are like."

Remus laughed knowingly. "I know well enough from last year." He hesitated. "No Susan or Jo either?"

"No." Darlene grimaced and Remus got the hint. Susa had wandered off to find Jo after an uncomfortable morning- since both of them were giving the rest of the girls the silent treatment. It seemed Susan was sticking firmly on her best friend's side. Darlene, Lily and Marlene were more irritated by the way the two girls were acting than Addie was, but they were all fed up with them.

Marlene prodded the dark-haired girl, who started as she woke up. "Where am I?" she asked sleepily. Her hair was a tangled mess, and faint shadows framed her eyes.

"In the common room." smiled Marlene. "You fell asleep."

"Oh." Addie said, yawning. "Whoops." Her friends laughed, but she stayed quiet. She couldn't get that nightmare out of her mind. The thick branches of the trees swaying in the dark, the sound of a dangerous growl that had ripped through the forest…

"I never got around to asking you- how were your summers?" Remus asked, pulling Addie back to the present.

"Alright. We all went to Venice with Dad's work." said Darlene. "Mum and Dad were up to their usual antics again- they're constantly at each other's throats recently, since all this war crap- but it was a nice holiday." She smiled wistfully. "The canals were amazing."

"I've always wanted to go to Venice." Addie admitted, dreamily. She pushed the nightmare from her thoughts. It was just a stupid dream. Just a very scary, stupid dream. "Since I was a little girl. But, we decided to stay at home this year." This wasn't entirely true. It was her mum who had wanted to stay at home this year- God knows why. Addie had argued with her, saying the girls needed some time away, until her Dad, surprisingly stern, had asked her to drop it… but she didn't want to dredge up her strained relationship with her mother.

"Mine was okay." said Lily, thinking about her summer of dodging Severus and arguing with Petunia. "The best bit was when I stayed at Alice's for a couple of weeks, before she went to the Scilly Isles. You know what my sister's like- It's hard living with someone who hates you." Lily laughed, but it sounded hollow even to her own ears, and Marlene squeezed her hand.

"I'm sure she'll come round." Remus said, softly. Lily smiled, thankful for his effort to make her feel better.

"What about you, Marlene?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I stayed at home, since Dad didn't fancy going away anywhere. But it was good, thanks." She looked up at Remus, and they locked gazes for just a fraction too long. Addie raised her eyebrows, but before anyone could pick them up on it, someone cleared their throat.

Lily looked up to see the remaining Marauders standing above them. Sirius lounged on the arm of Remus's chair and James sat down in the same puffy armchair he had last night, Peter scarpering after him like a puppy dog. Lily groaned, muttering under her breath something about how the day had been 'going well.'

"Morning ladies." drawled Sirius, oblivious to Remus's roll of the eyes. He smirked around at the group in front of him. "And what are we discussing this fine morning?" Lily scowled.

"What's it to you, Black?" she asked snarkily, crossing her arms. Her head was sore from the lack of sleep she'd had last night, and she wasn't in the mood for the marauders antics.

"Can't a man wonder?" His smirk was cocky, playful, and Darlene made an amused noise in the back of her throat.

"What my dear friends _mean_ to say is that we were discussing our summers." smiled Marlene. James grinned and Lily noticed that he avoided her gaze, obviously not wanting to be reminded if their sort-of-argument the night before. For some alien reason, guilt pricked at her chest.

"I bet yours didn't beat mine and Sirius's." he gloated. _And_ the annoyance was back, along with the cockiness in that crooked grin of his.

Sirius eyes lit up with excitement as he nodded, vigorously. "We plotted _the_ greatest pranks of all time, went to three quidditch games and played matches most days with Moony and Wormtail. It was awesome."

They had never seen Sirius happier than when he was talking about his time spent at the Potter and Lily allowed herself a smile- as much as the marauders angered her, she was as relieved as everyone that Sirius had got away from that awful family of his.

"What did you guys do?" Peter asked the girls.

Remus sighed, but his eyes twinkled. "We've already discussed this, Pete. Darlene was in Venice, Alice was in the Scilly Isles, Marlene and Addie were at home, and Lily was hiding from Snape. That about sums it up."

James scowled. "I would have thought Snivellus would have backed off after last year."

"Or at least been busy with death eater meetings." muttered Sirius.

" _Sirius_." scolded Remus, throwing a worried glance at Lily, who only sighed.

"It's fine, Remus. They can say whatever they like about Severus. I'm not going to stop them."

Sirius' grin widened at the challenge. "Anything?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"'Anything' is a dangerous word for Sirius Black." laughed James. "Anyway, I don't want to spend my morning wasting my breath on that slimy git. There are more pressing matters at hand. Have any of you seen Frank today? Sirius and I need to talk quidditch tactics with him- and you two." He nodded at Darlene and Addie, who had been dozing off again. "If we're going to win the quidditch cup this year, we need to start practise almost immediately- I'm setting up trials soon."

Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. I think I'll actually die of embarrassment if Ravenclaw win again. I heard that their new seeker-"

But before he could finish, Frank and Alice entered the common room, their cheeks flushed and hair windswept. Both smiled widely at their friends.

"Sorry." said Alice, breathlessly. "We took a walk."

"Ah, a walk." Sirius wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes Black, a _walk_." replied Alice, with a roll of her eyes. "Though the word might seem foreign to you." Frank smiled at his girlfriend with admiration, but before he could speak, James butted in.

"Frank- just the person we were looking for. Me and Sirius need to talk to you urgently-" he tugged the mildly confused boy along with his grinning best friend over to the corner table by their shirt sleeves, and signalled for Addie and Darlene to join them, who did so with a sigh. Immediately, they began a serious conversation in hushed whispers. The three victims were soon drawn in.

Alice laughed chirpily and collapsed in one of the puffy arm chairs with a huff. "I have never walked so far in my life. We must have strolled the entire grounds twice over- there was so much to talk about since we couldn't meet up in the summer. Frank was babbling away." She glanced over at him, and the animated way he chatted with James and Sirius and grinned. "Oh, look at them. I don't understand how they can be so fascinated with quidditch."

"It might seem hard to understand." Said Marlene huffily, opening a copy of The Daily Prophet. She was a big fan of the sport herself. "But, it's a very important game."

"Whatever you say." said Alice, glancing over at Lily, who suppressed a giggle. Marlene looked up at them over the paper, and Lily was reminded of a stern McGonagall.

"There's nothing wrong with having a passion for quidditch."

"We never said there was, Mar." smiled Lily.

"You're just so very serious about it." commented Alice. "It seems to be more of an obsession than a passion." Lily rolled her eyes, knowing Alice liked to rile people up.

"Is not." huffed Marlene, scowling. The other girls took one look at each other and burst out laughing at their friends' expression- even Remus chuckled fondly. Marlene was usually the most even-tempered out of them all.

Remus looked about to say something to soothe Marlene's annoyance, until he spotted something on the back page of the girls paper and his eyes hardened. Alice's did the same.

"What?" asked Lily, frowning at her friends expressions. She watched as Alice turned to them, eyes stormy and her lips tight.

"Look." She smacked down the paper, where Marlene's father smiled up at them, his cheeks rosy like his daughters, and his blonde hair flopping over his glasses, as he tried to tuck his fringe behind his ear. The title screamed: _'McKinnon's Morbid Mistake Leads to Three More Wizards Emitted to St Mungo's.'_ Lily skim read the piece, which was about a malfunctioning portkey, and how the object was Mr McKinnon's responsibility within the Portkey office in The Department of Magical Transportation, before glancing up at Marlene, whose face was now an angry shade of red after finishing reading the article herself.

"Dad told me about that before I left. He said that his partner, Murphy, had sent out the malfunctioning Portkey instead of the one he had set up. He said it was all sorted- I can't believe he's getting the blame for this."

Alice scowled, pointing to a picture of a young woman with a very straight nose and tightly permed hair. She was waving a quill around and giggling to herself. "It's that evil snake, Rita Skeeta. My mum used to know her mother- she's just started working at The Daily Prophet, and she's always been a little worm. Every story I've read is just garbage, full of lies. Don't believe a word she says, Mar." Marlene nodded, biting her lip.

"I just hope Dad doesn't get in trouble for it, now this article's been written."

"I'm sure he won't." said Remus, gravelly. "No one will believe a word of this, your dad's a great man. And, anyway, I'm sure his assistant will speak up."

Marlene sighed. "I'm hope you're right. Thanks guys, but I better go write to him anyway, to see if he's alright. He's an old softie, dad." She smiled weakly, and rose to go to the owlery.

"I'll come with you." said Remus. Marlene nodded thankfully, and they left together.

"I can't believe that." said Alice angrily, once Marlene was out of ear shot. "Some people really are the worst." They all liked Mr McKinnon a lot, with his kind, bubbly attitude towards life, and to think he'd been made out to be a fool was aggravating, to say the least.

"I just hope it doesn't put his job at risk." sighed Lily. "They already struggle enough." Peter had been quiet during this entire exchange, but stood up now.

"I hope Marlene's alright. I might go check on her before I do some work." he muttered.

"Work?" frowned Alice. "We haven't had any lessons yet."

Peter blushed. "McGonagall set me some. She said if I don't do extra, I won't pass my NEWT's. Then I can't get into the Ministry." Lily felt a pang of pity for him, knowing how he struggled with some subjects.

"I can help you if you like, Peter?"

"No, you're alright. I'll be done in an hour… but, thanks Lily." He chucked her a smile, before scarpering off out of the portrait hole.

Lily bit her lip. "Do you think I should be starting work early? I so want to do well in my NEWT's, and it's going to be a big step up."

Alice grinned. "There's the Lily we all know and miss. I was waiting for her to stick her nerdy head out of whatever hole she's been hiding in." Lily shoved her, blushing crimson.

"Shut up."

"That's rude, Evans." said a voice. Black, Potter, Addie, Darlene and Frank were back again, all looking happy with themselves. Lily sighed internally- couldn't he _ever_ leave her alone?

"What was with the long faces earlier?" asked Frank.

"Yeah and where is everyone?" frowned Sirius.

"Marlene and Remus are at the owlery." Alice explained, gesturing to the paper in front of them. By the time the three boys had finished reading, they wore expressions that varied from disgruntled to disgusted, and Sirius told Rita Skeeta in a very impolite manner what she could do with the quill that she was pictured with at the bottom of the page.

"My Dad knows Mervin McKinnon." said James, angrily. "He's a good man."

"We know." sighed Addie. "I just hope his jobs still alright after this bitch spat out her story. I feel awful for Marlene- she must be so worried about him."

"It'll be alright." Sirius said, his eyes earnest. "We'll make sure that he keeps his job."

He said it with such conviction that Addie couldn't help but feel comforted, and she nodded firmly. "We will."

Addie, Lily and Marlene went for a walk over the bridge after lunch, since Darlene was helping James set up his trials; if there was one thing Darlene cared about most in the world, it was Quidditch. It was chilly, so they wrapped their cloaks around themselves as they walked. Addie hadn't realised how much she'd missed her friends and Hogwarts- the castle loomed behind her, set against the blue sky, and she smiled softly to herself. She never wanted to leave.

"It's funny, isn't it, the way Jo's acting?" Marlene commented, as they leant against the side of the old bridge. "She seemed almost jealous… but you and Sirius aren't even together."

"Maybe she is jealous." Lily offered. "Maybe she thinks he fancies you or something."

"Can we _please_ not talk about it?" Addie groaned. "Whatever problem Jo has, it's exactly that- her problem… it's just a shame that Susan has got dragged into it with her. She's too loyal, that girl- and Jo treats her like dirt."

"I know." sighed Lily. "I wouldn't mind never speaking to Jo again, but Susan's usually so kind. It's frustrating to say the least."

"I'm sure she'll come to her sense with time." Marlene assured.

"I hope so… have you seen Will yet, Mar?"

She blushed. "Yeah, I spoke to him this morning actually. He was in the owlery, when Remus and I went up…"

Addie grimaced. "Oh god, how did he react?"

"Oh, fine, actually. He was happy to see me." She fiddled with her cloak, nervously.

"And Remus?"

"Well, he just said he'd see me later, and then he disappeared." She avoided their gaze.

"Mar…" Lily started.

She sighed. "I know, I know. I just… I can't work out whether he likes me or not. And I feel so guilty stringing both of them along like this if he does. I _like_ Will so much- really I do. He's so funny and kind, and so is Remus… I just… I don't want to hurt either of them." She laughed, softly. "It's so flattering to be caught up in the middle, but horrible too."

"I suppose you've just got to decide who you like best." Addie said, rubbing her arm sympathetically.

"That's harder than it sounds." Marlene replied, sadly.

"Not if you have wonderful friends to tell you when you're making a huge mistake." She grinned, and Marlene giggled.

"I've missed you two idiots."

The rest of the weekend passed quickly and without much excitement. Susan and Jo continued to ignore their friends, and the awkwardness still remained in their dorm- though it was getting easier to ignore.

Addie's nightmares didn't stop. They were pretty much the same each night, but sometimes she'd notice little changes, like the colour of the shirt she was wearing, or the way her hair fell around her face. Though she was still running through a forest, and a gnawing feeling would scratch at the insides of her stomach, like a prisoner wanting to escape. Her breaths came in short bursts, and she was desperate. Desperate for her legs to speed up, for her feet to reach the destination- wherever it was- quicker. The trees seemed to close in as she pushed on, branches snagging on her clothes, at her skin. And then that piercing howl would rip through everything- the forest, her head, and the dream.

She could still hear it now, however much she tried to ignore it.

Lessons soon started on Monday morning. The sixth years had all got their timetables the day before, and had spent most of the evening comparing and complaining about their classes. The Marauders, unsurprisingly, had managed to get most of theirs together, excluding some of the extra ones Remus took, and some of the harder ones, which Peter wasn't in.

Addie was pretty happy with her timetable, as she looked over it again at the breakfast table, but Lily was not. The red head took more classes than her friends, who were all gifted but didn't have Lily's work ethic- and it seemed as though they couldn't fit them all in. She quickly called over McGonagall about the problem, who assessed her timetable.

"Ah, yes. That's no mistake, I'm afraid, Miss Evans." Her eyes pierced down at the girl over her glasses. "To take muggle studies, you would need to use the… device we spoke of." She looked meaningfully down at Lily, wary of the eyes around her. Lily glanced at Addie, who was the only one who knew about the TimeTurner option McGonagall had written about in her letter over the summer. Addie shrugged, knowing it would be a lot of work for her best friend.

"It's okay." Lily said with a sigh. "I'll have to do without, Professor. Thank you." McGonagall left with a curt nod, looking slightly disappointed.

"What the hell do you want to take muggle studies for, Lils?" Asked Alice, who sat next to her friend. "You're a muggleborn."

Lily crossed her arms defensively. "Different perspectives... it would be interesting."

Darlene laughed. "My _god_ , you're a nerd, Lils."

"Well, she'd definitely get an Outstanding." grinned Addie. "Though, I'm sure she will in everything."

Lily huffed, but didn't reply.

"Morning all." grinned Sirius, sitting down next to Addie. James sat next to him, and Remus and Peter sat on the opposite side, by Lily and Marlene.

"Hello and goodbye." laughed Alice, standing up. "I've got to go find Frank- I'll see you later." She left the hall, a bounce in her step.

"She's always off finding Frank." Peter complained.

Marlene laughed. "Oh, leave them be. Can't you see they're in love?"

"Yeah, 'love'." said James, sceptically, staring down at his untouched food with a sulky expression. Sirius raised his eyebrows at Addie, who stifled a giggle. She felt bad for James, knowing Lily was still on his mind, but the boy was very over-dramatic.

"So... who's excited for third period DADA with the Slytherins?" asked Sirius, cheerfully.

Addie sighed. It was her favourite subject, but she wasn't looking forward to the company. "Ugh. I don't think I'm ready to face Snape after a summer away from him." she said. Addie had never liked seeing Sirius and James single out Snape in previous years, but after he'd been such a git to Lily, and started hanging around all the vile Slytherins, she'd grown to dislike the boy. Plus, the marauders pranks on him were always hilarious- if slightly immoral. Lily was always more sympathetic since she'd only seen his good side, never the sneery comments he made to the marauders that set them off, or the curses he threw first. Addie had seen it all.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Me either, Reid, me either." He shook his head in mock remorse. "It's going to take every bit of me not to enchant some soap and scrub his hair."

Addie thumped him. "Be nice." she warned, though her lips twitched. "You can't start anything, remember?"

He pouted. "Don't be a spoilsport, Ads."

"Sirius..." She glared.

"Fine, I promise." He looked sincere as he crossed his heart, but his eyes glimmered mischievously- and Addie didn't trust that smirk. She rolled her eyes.

"Have you spoken to Snape?" Marlene asked Lily, smiling slightly at their debate about the boy. Lily, who had been frowning at a distant James, glanced at her.

"What? Oh... Severus. No, I haven't. I mean, I saw him on the train..." She stopped abruptly.

"What happened?" Darlene's eyes drew together in a frown.

"I don't want to talk about it. Not now." said Lily, playing with her now soggy cornflakes. This drew James and Addie's attention, who both looked up, but didn't say anything. Addie vowed to ask her best friend once she had the chance, which happened to be after breakfast.

Once out of the hall, Addie pulled Lily aside, as students spilled out, chatting and joking. "What was that about?" she whispered.

"Later." Lily sighed. Then, she smiled. "You know, I'm starting to see what Jo was on about- the part about Black crushing on you, I mean. I never noticed before, but he's different around you."

Addie's scowled. "Different how?"

"I don't know… just different."

"We're just friends." she said, defensively. "We've always been like that."

"I suppose so- you two were always _incredibly_ annoying together." Lily laughed, and they joined the swell of people on their way to lessons.

Their first period of the day was charms, and despite Professor Flitwick's squeaks at the beginning of the class, warning them all that the year ahead would be full of difficult and complex spells, they started on a simple Anti-theft spell. Addie, looking flustered, arrived late as usual, (much to the amusement of her fellow Gryffindor's). She grimaced and apologised, but Flitwick simply rolled his eyes, waving to an empty seat. Lily was the first to master the spell, closely followed by Remus, and Marlene, who was fairly good at charms. James and Sirius soon gave up and began levitating each other's objects off their desks, whilst hitting unsuspecting students in the head with books, pens and erasers. This seemed to put James in a much better mood. Addie was poked by a pencil repetitively, but she managed to fire it back the fourth time, so it shot right into Sirius's desk, sticking out of the wood. She burst out laughing at his expression, but he soon got his own back, sprinkling her with chalk from Flitwick's desk until she resembled a snowman.

When Lily got thumped on the shoulder by Sirius's old notebook for the second time, however, she flung around angrily in her seat, having had enough.

"Will you two stop?!" she exclaimed. "The concept might seem foreign to you, but we're actually trying to work here."

"Awfully sorry. I didn't mean to hit you Lily-kins. I was aiming for Moony." Sirius grinned. "Won't happen again."

"You bet it won't. Or I'll complain to Professor Flitwick- you've already messed up Addie's uniform." She paused. "And don't call me Lily-kins." With that, she went back to her work.

Sirius sniggered. "Feisty one you've got there, Prongs."

"I heard that!" said Lily.

"Sorry your highness."

"Shut up Sirius." James shoved him lightly. "Lily's just revelling in the fact she's better at charms than us."

"Ignore them." muttered Marlene, sensing danger, but Lily payed no attention, turning around once again. Sirius leant back in his chair, revelling in the argument that was sure to unfold.

"And just how do you know that Potter?" she asked, with narrowed eyes.

"It's written all over your face, Evans." he grinned.

"And you can tell, because you know my facial expressions so well, don't you?"

"He does stalk you, Evans." sniggered Sirius. She ignored him.

"I don't stalk-"

"Be quiet Potter. I'm fed up of you interrupting my work. If you haven't noticed, we're starting our NEWTs now..." She trailed off, realising her lecture would get her nowhere with _him_. "Anyway, all you do is sit there messing around, acting like you can read my every thought. I've had enough if it." She crossed her arms as he leaned forward, so close they were almost touching, a smile playing on his lips, throwing her rant off course. His eyes burned into hers and her heart rate accelerated.

"Who said I can't read your mind, Evans?" he breathed. Lily swallowed.

"Well... what am I thinking then?" Her voice was a squeak. Darlene and Addie shared smug a look.

"Now, now, that would be telling..." He leant back I'm his seat with ease, as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, it's _far_ too dirty to say aloud."

Sirius smirked, and she swore at them both, before flinging back around, her face flushed with embarrassment and fury.

But, her anger didn't stop her beating heart from pounding in her chest. What the hell was wrong with her?


	4. An Unexpected Outcome

An Unexpected Outcome

Lily seethed throughout the day, and both Darlene and Addie were glad they didn't have every lesson with her like Marlene, who looked fed up by their last period, (6th year potions). They all filed into Slughorn's dingy classroom, and Addie was immediately faced with the problem of getting a partner. It seemed Remus had sat with a blushing Marlene; Darlene was sat with Andrew Baker, (most likely to piss of Jo, since Addie could see the gleam in Darlene's eye as she glanced back at the said Gryffindor), and Lily had gone with none other than Colin Dawkins, (James's expression had turned sour once he realised this), so it was for this reason she was stuck with a smirking Sirius Black.

"Guess it's just me and you, Reid." he commented, placing down his cauldron. She rolled her eyes in reply, and then chastised herself. She had to stop doing that- it seemed to be her automatic reaction to everything recently.

"You'll have to do, Black, but you better be good at potions."

"Oh, you just wait and see."

She did wait, and she did soon see that he was in fact _awful_ at potions, though it didn't actually bother her- she just didn't know how anyone taking their N.E.W.T. could be so hopeless at a subject... especially someone as smart as Sirius.

She questioned him on this after cleaning up his seventh spillage, (yes, seven), but Sirius was unfazed.

"I scratched by last year, thanks to Remus, probably." he said, casually. "Reg was always the potion master in the family. I'm better with a wand." How he made 'wand' sound flirty, Addie will never know, but it didn't stop her from blushing. As always, he smirked, and carried on stirring in the wrong direction.

"Do you reckon she'll ever come round?" Sirius asked later, nodding to Lily. They had been watching the sworn Gryffindor enemies as they bickered across the classroom, for most of the lesson. Addie cocked her head.

"I honestly don't know. There's definitely a part of her that likes him- but it depends if she'll be too stubborn to admit it. When Lily's made up her mind on something or someone, it takes a long time for her opinion to change."

"I don't know why he doesn't give up, to be honest- but I suppose James is just as stubborn as Evans." Addie frowned.

"You really think he should give up? Just like that?"

"Well, I don't think it's doing him any favours, chasing a girl who doesn't like him." He added some beaver fur to their potion, which was turning a sickly green.

Addie bit her lip. "I don't know. You see, I think she does, deep down… or at least she will someday. People change, opinions change."

He squinted at her. "Do you really believe that?"

"Sure I do. And I think you should fight for what you want." She checked her watch. They had to let it simmer for two minutes.

"But he can't tell what she's thinking."

"That's true... but he's got to trust his instincts." she reasoned.

"Instincts can be wrong." He smirked, dryly.

"A leap of faith then."

Sirius chuckled, and it was different to the bark-like laugh he usually had, warmer. "You have a strange way of seeing things." He looked at her closely, and she suddenly felt self-conscious.

Addie busied herself with the ingredients. "I hope that's a compliment."

"It is. It's good to be perceptive, and you always see stuff that others miss."

"Well, thanks." she frowned, unsure what he was trying to say.

"My pleasure, Reid. Now, please try and fix this monstrosity before I blow someone up."

"How was a lesson with Andrew _Baker_ then, Dar?" Addie asked, smirking at her friend.

Darlene laughed. "You see right through me." she said, pausing for a moment. "But, in all fairness, the bloke _was_ rather nice for one of Jo's flings… though you could tell he was caught up on her. Wouldn't stop talking about the girl for a single moment."

Addie feigned surprise. "Darlene O'Connell just called someone _nice_? And a _boy_? You hate boys!" She grinned. "He must have had a real impact on you."

Darlene rolled her eyes. "I do not _hate_ boys. And anyway, he was obsessed with _Jo Harrington_. Any impact he had was far from positive, I can assure you."

Lily pulled a face. "I wonder if she'll ever change her mind." she mused.

Darlene pursed her lips. "Even if she does, I'm staying well away from her. It was hard enough sitting with Andrew… but I _do_ excel at playing the moody cow. I got him to shut up eventually."

"I'm surprised he wasn't scared of you." Lily laughed. "God knows you scare the life out of most people when you're pissed off Dar… even more so than Addie."

"I do _not_ scare people." Addie complained. "Well, at least Jo didn't think so."

"Well, you are nearly as small as Alice." Lily replied. "And it _is_ rather funny when you shout, but when you're _really_ mad you get this look in your eye..." She shivered. "Scares me half to death."

"Hmm, but you'll never get my reputation." Darlene grinned.

Marlene changed the subject, distracted. "Did anyone see the look Susan gave me in that lesson?" she asked, grimacing as they reached the common room.

"Oh, you couldn't miss it." Darlene replied, stepping into the portrait hole. "You only _sat_ with Lupin, she was acting like the two of you were going at it on the desk."

"I hope she doesn't say anything to Charles." Marlene worried, biting her lip.

"She won't Mar." Lily assured, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Now can we _please_ go and get rid of these books?" she groaned. "I think my shoulder's about to break."

"Sure, but first I'm getting my cauldron back." Addie said. "Sirius blew it up and he _promised_ he'd fix it."

Darlene snorted. "I'd like to see him keep that promise."

The next couple of weeks went by, and all the sixth years were finding their NEWT classes challenging, but were more worried about the gradual build-up of homework they were being set. By Thursday evening, the Gryffindor's had a fairly big stack set in front of them, and even though Sirius and James joked about their work, they couldn't avoid the ever growing pile in front of them either.

"I honestly can't deal with this." moaned Peter. "It's the third week back."

"Here's a tip. Stop moaning and start working, Wormtail." smirked Sirius. Peter threw him a glare.

"Yeah, and you can talk, Black. I notice you haven't even started the transfiguration essay." Addie commented.

Sirius wasn't perturbed, and he smirked cockily. "It'll be a breeze- you know transfiguration is my best subject. And anyway, Jamesie's finished his, I'm sure he'll let me glance at it." He winked at James, who rolled his eyes.

"It's easy for you to say." said Peter grumpily. "You don't have this huge Herbology assignment."

Alice smiled from where she lay, leaning her head on Frank's chest. "If you break it up, it's not actually that much. That's what Frank told me."

"It's true." The said boy agreed. "We were in your shoes last year; you've just got to do as it comes along."

"That's easier said than done." grumbled Lily, whose hair was a scattered mess.

"Here Lils, I'm pretty much finished. I'll help you." Marlene offered. Lily smiled gratefully.

"Thanks Mar."

"Hey, why don't I get any help?" whined Addie.

"Because Lily's having a mental break down, Ads." Sirius grinned. "You're just bored."

"Boredom is the trigger for many, many health problems." she remarked sulkily.

"Liar." Sirius smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him, but her head was pounding. She needed to get some sleep. Sirius saw the exhaustion in her eyes, and threw her a questioning glance. She shook her head, but his brow still creased. He was wrong when he said that she was the perceptive one; that boy really didn't miss a thing.

"Where's Darlene, by the way?" Remus asked.

James nodded over to the corner of the common room, where Darlene sat, scribbling frantically on parchment.

"What _is_ she doing?" Lily asked, her brow creased.

"Didn't she tell you?" James frowned.

She rolled her eyes. "Obviously not, Potter, since I just asked you."

"Oh. Well she's writing up some quidditch tactics. I made her vice-captain, you see."

"You did _what_?" Sirius spluttered, scattering sheets of parchment.

James laughed. "I'm sorry Pads, but you know how much effort Darlene puts into the team. She's a great chaser, and she's always coming up with game plans. I had no choice."

" _Fine_." Sirius grumbled, slumping back in his seat. "But that better be a damn good plan."

Half an hour later and they'd all pretty much finished; Lily had even managed to get two essays done, with Marlene's help, and Darlene had joined them. When the girls asked her about the new position, she'd blushed crimson, which was a rarity for Darlene.

"Oh, well, I… I meant to tell you…" she had spluttered, but they'd laughed it off, grinning, and Lily had congratulated her. Addie dozed in the armchair, and in slightly better spirits, James and Sirius started a game of wizard chess whilst the others looked on.

The game was ferocious, and the outcome was close, but James finally managed to beat Sirius, as he usually did, smashing half his players. They were both laughing by the time they'd finished.

As Sirius persuaded Peter to play him, James sidled over to Lily, settling down next to her on the sofa. "Hey Lils."

She crossed her arms, moving non-too-subtly away from him.

"What do you want, Potter?"

"Don't you want me to say hi now?" He raised his eyebrows, but his voice was laced in exasperation.

She rolled her eyes. "Potter, when have I ever wanted you to say hi?"

"How do you know you haven't? You might have thought it sub-consciously."

"Oh and you'd know." she mocked.

His teasing tone was back, along with his crooked grin. "Don't you remember? I can read minds."

She rolled her eyes. "I see that. So I've suddenly decided to go with you to Hogsmeade then?"

"Won't you? Just this once? Or at least hang out with me. It's not much to ask, really. Most girls would be flattered."

Lily's anger ignited. "Well, obviously I'm not 'most girls', Potter. And I'm going with Colin to Hogsmeade. After all, I am only your second choice... Or was it your third? My memory fails me."

Marlene smirked from where she read a book in the nearest armchair, reminding Lily that they had an audience.

"You know I didn't mean that stuff-" argued James, scowling.

"Oh you didn't _mean_ it. That clears everything up."

"I didn't Lils. I-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Fine, Evans. You know I didn't mean it- any of it. Can't you just go with me? Give me a chance.''

She groaned. "Why do you always come up with this crap? Can't you just stop messing with my head for one moment?"

James frowned. Surely Lily couldn't think he was making fun of her? After so many years? "Lily, look. I'm not messing with you-"

"Oh cut the bull, Potter. You could at least be honest with me. God knows you owe me that." James shook his head, amazed at her obliviousness. Finally, he looked up at her, his hazel eyes full of sincerity.

"Lily, I'm being honest. Just give me a chance. You could at least consider it."

She paused, as his the golden flecks threatened to overwhelm her. She knew she couldn't trust Potter. This was what he wanted- this was part of his game. "Fine. I have." He waited with baited breath.

"I'd rather be branded with a hot poker than go out with you." And with that, she stormed over to where Alice sat, sitting down with a hump!

James paused before leaning over to Sirius, frowning. "What's a poker?" He whispered, making sure Lily was out of ear shot. Sirius looked grave.

"I don't know mate, but whatever it is, it can't be good." James nodded, his worst fears having been confirmed, and slumped dejectedly into his seat.

Addie went up to bed early, barely able to keep her eyes open, and found the dormitory empty apart from Susan- who was reading on her bed. The silence was awkward, and Addie walked over to her corner, very aware of the other girls' eyes on her back. She got changed, but just before she clambered under her sheets, she hesitated. After a heartbeat, she turned back a round to her dorm mate.

"Um… Susan?"

The bushy haired girl dragged her eyes from the book she was reading. "Hmm?"

"I just," A deep breath. "I just wanted to say that… I'm sorry. I'd love to be mates again." This wasn't completely true, but sacrifices had to be made for simplicity's sake.

Susan's eyes softened and she placed down her book. But, just as she was about to say something, Jo barged in.

"Alright Suzy? I just had the most wonderful time with-" noticing Addie, standing in her unicorn pyjamas, she stopped.

"Did I just…" Her eyes narrowed as she looked between the two. "…interrupt something?"

Susan, flushing, shook her head, and Addie rolled her eyes- she _had_ to stop doing that- before clambering into bed.

"Goodnight." she muttered, closing her eyes and hoping for a dreamless sleep.

The weekend soon came by in full swing, and Addie was glad. Her nightmares had become less frequent, giving her more energy and her skin more colour, so she couldn't wait for the quidditch trials that James had planned for Saturday. Her mother positively _hated_ the sport, and she wasn't allowed to practise during summer unless she could find an empty field, so it felt like it had been years since she'd been on a broomstick.

On Saturday morning, the Gryffindor table was buzzing with energy. It seemed there were a fair few people planning on trying out, and some of the other students were going to watch. Hearing this, Addie's nerves kicked in. Would she have forgotten how to ride a broom? Would her skill have evaporated without practise over the summer? She knew Sirius and James and most of the old team came from wizarding families, with huge gardens built for playing quidditch, and the worry that she'd embarrass herself ran around her head while she stared at her breakfast.

"Eat something, Addie. It'll help." Remus said, kindly. She nodded meekly, but the toast tasted like cardboard in her mouth.

Next to him, James and Sirius were sat together. Sirius was tucking into a hearty breakfast, as James rambled on about different players and their qualities. They both looked as confident as ever, grinning in their quidditch robes. Addie felt a pang of jealousy, wishing she could feel as calm as they looked. Sirius looked up and smiled, his grey eyes twinkling. "Don't look so scared, Reid. You're the best chaser on the team." James shoved him indignantly and Darlene let out an annoyed " _hey_ ", but Sirius just winked at her, making Addie laugh in spite of herself, and feel slightly better.

Half an hour later, she walked down to the pitch with Lily and Marlene, nervously tugging her quidditch robes. Lily gave her a warm smile before they parted. "You'll be _fine_." she said, squeezing Addie's arm. Addie grinned, thankfully.

"I hope so."

Lily and Marlene went to sit in the stands with Peter, Remus, Alice and some other Gryffindor's, whilst Addie walked onto the pitch. There were about fifteen people gathered there, all stood in front of James and Sirius. She went to join them, and realised with dismay that most of the people there were all much bigger than her, with thick frames and heads that towered above hers. But, she wouldn't let herself be intimidated. Holding her chin up high, she tried to look as frightening as possible as James briefed them on how the trials would work, and the groups they'd be in.

Addie was in the second group to for her chaser trial, so she went over to watch from the side and wait her turn.

Overall, each person was tried twice, once in their first best position, and once in their second best. Addie had the build of a seeker and was good at catching, so had put that as her second choice, even though she'd played chaser ever since second year.

Eventually, it was her turn as chaser. She walked onto the pitch with the rest of her team, her palms sweating with nerves, and mounted her broom. James gave her a reassuring nod, but her stomach was still in knots as they rose in the air.

The whistle was blown, and Addie immediately went into action. She soared into the air, feeling nothing but euphoria as wind swept through her hair, rushing across her skin. She spiralled around and around, before getting a hold on herself. She needed to focus.

In her trial, she was playing with James and a small fourth year who had spiky red hair and a big grin. He snatched the ball out of the air and sped along on his broom, towards the goal. Addie set herself up in position, and called out "Pass!" to him, but he ignored her, firing at full speed towards the keeper, Frank. Frank had been keeper since his fourth year, and with long limbs, and an agile speed, he was an excellent player. He caught the barrelling ball with ease, causing the boy's grin to fall.

"As a chaser, teamwork is key, Oliver." James frowned, catching the ball Frank had thrown to him and passing it back to the red-head boy. "You need to pass it this time."

Oliver nodded glumly, and James blew the whistle again. He grabbed the ball, and Addie set herself up into position again. This time when he flew past, he chucked it to her, and she flew up next to the goal, throwing the ball in as hard as she could. It soared over to Frank, somewhat wonkily, but managed to just slip in. There was a loud cheer, and she looked up to see her friends grinning and applauding her from the stands. She did a little victory spin, to Oliver's distaste, and then flew back over to James, who had blown his whistle once more.

"Right." he said. "Last one. I want you to pass it between you at least four times, until whoever's in the best position scores. Understood?"

They both nodded, and he chucked the ball up again. This time Addie grabbed it and began weaving her way across the pitch, passing it to Oliver about halfway down. He passed it back to her and she flew underneath him, nearing the posts. She chucked the ball at him and he caught it clumsily, before throwing it right back to her. She could have attempted a shot, but she wasn't in a great position, so she passed it back to him, circling around the goal posts until she was on the other side. He deliberated with the ball, glancing at her, before James's words about teamwork obviously sunk in and he sighed, finally chucking it back to Addie. She caught it in surprise, but aimed at the post. Frank was watching her carefully, knowing that it was an easy shot, and she was sure to get it in. Any half-decent chaser could score from there. She threw the ball and it arched up, heading for the posts… but then it had missed, and was falling down to the grass below in an embarrassingly feeble fall. Addie groaned, her face turning rosy in humiliation as the quidditch pitch fell silent. As they landed, James looked at her pitifully.

"Don't worry about it, Addie." he said, patting her arm. "It could happen to anyone." But she knew it couldn't. It was an easy throw, and she could see her thoughts reflected in James's eyes. _She should have scored._

Skill wise, he'd never been as good as James and Darlene, and James knew that, but she'd always been able to score a shot. And an easy one like that should have been simple.

She headed back over to the side of the pitch, her head down.

"Wasn't that bad, Reid." Sirius said, with soft eyes.

"It was awful." she replied, looking at the floor. "You saw how easy that shot was, Sirius." She glanced at him. "You don't think I'm losing my touch, do you?"

"Nah." he replied, swinging his beater's bat. "It's just nerves, Ads. Don't sweat it- James knows what you can do."

The whistle blew and Addie watched as he jogged onto the pitch. If only she could be as sure of herself as Sirius was… but deep down, she knew confidence wouldn't help her now. She was off the team for sure.

The rest of the morning dragged on, and Addie's spirits got lower and lower. Gradually, the crowd of people waiting to try out thinned, and the crowd began to depart the stadium too, until only her friends were left, smiling sympathetically down at her.

Eventually, James held out his clipboard, looking around at the few players they had left.

"Right…" he consulted his list again, before reading out names. "So we've got Jackson and Sirius as our beaters…" He turned to his best friend, frowning. "Haven't you already played in that position?"

Sirius shrugged, grinning, and James just rolled his eyes. " _Fine_. Jackson and Sirius as our beaters…" He glanced at Darlene. "Peterson, O'Connell and Stark as our chasers, Jones as our beater, and Reid as our seeker."

Addie got up dejectedly. If she'd already performed badly as chaser… well, she was going to be hopeless in a position she'd never played in before.

They hopped onto their brooms, waiting for James's whistle, before soaring into the air. Again, Addie felt the familiar rush as she flew up high, and she was glad she now had the freedom to fly. Her head had been pounding, but now it was clear as the cold wind blew her ruffled her quidditch robes. She barely ever got a chance to just free-style and fly through the air, so it felt amazing. She twisted and turned, laughing with glee as she zoomed around the pitch, rising higher and higher. She looked down from her high perch. Far below, she could see her team mates playing furiously, passing the quaffle and scoring goals, and it bought her back to her senses. She had to at least _try_ and find the snitch- even if it was hopeless.

For a few minutes, she scoured the pitch for any sight of gold, but had no luck, and her spirits fell again- the rush from her flying disappearing within a matter of seconds. What had happened down there? Her chaser skill must have got worse over the summer, or maybe she'd just grown out of them. James had said the other day that that could happen. She sighed, looking around hopelessly. How could you possibly find one speck of gold in a quidditch pitch this size anyway? It was near impossible. It was like finding a needle in a-

And then she saw it. Out of the corner of her eye there was a glittering flash. She turned quickly, and watched as the small, fluttering ball zoomed off from ten or so metres away, flying upwards into the clouds. Its wings were beating hard, but Addie immediately let out a burst of speed, climbing higher and higher, desperately trying to catch the darn thing. Soon, they were fully immersed in clouds, and she could barely see a metre in front of her, let alone spot the _snitch_ , but she carried on pushing on until she'd broke through the water vapour, and was staring around at the empty blue sky around her. Her hair whipped around her face as she searched. It had to be here somewhere- she'd only seen it just two minutes ago… aha! There it was! Just a yard or so in front of her, it was flapping away. Adrenaline filled her veins again, and Addie sped up, reaching her hand out- she was so close, so close, and _bingo_! She'd caught it! Excitement and shock flooded through her as she laughed out loud to herself, unable to contain her surprise and happiness. She'd caught the snitch! She did a victory spin, twisting round and round until she felt dizzy. No one would ever believe it, but she, Adelaide Beatrix Reid was a _good_ seeker.

Eventually, she flew back down to the pitch, a wide grin cracked across her face. James had just blown his whistle as she landed, and the rest of the team landed with a thump next to her.

"Well done, guys. You were all great." said James, smiling. "I'll put a notice up in the common room by Friday, so you know who made it. But awesome job."

Sirius turned to her, smiling. "You looked pretty happy, twirling away up there…" He trailed off as he saw the squirming ball in her hand, his eyes widening. "Wait… you caught the _snitch_?" He looked at her incredulously, and she laughed, unable to stop beaming. "Prongs! Prongs look! Addie caught the snitch!"

James whipped round, and, on seeing the struggling snitch in her hand, pulled her into a sudden tight hug. He grabbed her arms, his face looking as though it may crack from the weight of his grin. "You're the first one to catch it today! How did you…"

"I don't know," Addie admitted, still smiling. "I just spotted it flying into the clouds, and catching it… well, it seemed to come natural to me."

"I bet it did." James was grinning. "Catching a snitch in _fifteen_ minutes, merlin's beard… that's unheard of."

By now the people around Addie were starting to murmur to themselves, as the wind of Addie's catch got around. Darlene ran over, her mouth falling open as she laid eyes on Addie's hands. "Addie!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us about this talent of yours, eh?" she beamed, poking the smaller girl in the ribs. Then, quick as a flash, she turned to the stands, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Guys get down here, already!" she called to Lily, Alice, Remus, Peter and Marlene. "Addie caught the snitch!"

There were squeals and cheers from her friends as they scrambled to get off the spectating stands and down the steps onto the pitch.

The next minute, Addie was smothered in hugs.

"Well done Ads!" Lily smiled. "That's amazing!"

By this time, Addie was glowing red, and she muttered thankyou's as people congratulated her, the crowd around her swelling bigger.

"I always knew you had it in you Reid." Sirius muttered in her ear, his eyes twinkling as people patted her on the back. There were so many faces beaming down at her, and she smiled to herself. Sirius's whisper reminded her oddly of that night in the forest, when he'd tugged her off the dirt, and her heart started to beat loudly in her chest. It was still beating when they traipsed back to the castle, and she now understood why. Standing here, being surrounded by so many people who cared for her, Addie had never felt prouder.


	5. The Hidden Room

The Hidden Room

"I wonder if he's young?" Darlene mused, curling a brown strand of hair around her finger. The sixth year Gryffindor's were all sat in an empty classroom, waiting for the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher to arrive, and speculating what he would looked like.

"Yeah, I bet he is." Susan replied keenly from a few desks away. It had appeared that she was back on speaking terms with the girls, after approaching Addie and shyly congratulating her on her catch. Jo, however, still seethed, refusing to take part in the conversation from her seat next to Susan. "But no one's seen him yet," the girl continued, her pale blue eyes glittering. "It's all _very_ mysterious."

"I reckon you're all fussing over nothing. I reckon he'll be an old hag." Sirius said simply, rocking back on his chair and sweeping his dark hair out of his eyes. "Like the last one."

"Professor Clutterbuck was _nice_." Addie bit back, frowning. She was feeling irritable today, ever since a letter had arrived that morning from her mother. She'd gushed to her mum about starting Hogwarts- about the lessons, the spells, her Quidditch trials and her friends, but all she'd gotten in reply was a short passage in her mother's beautiful hand, stating that she was 'glad that Addie was having a good time', but they were very busy, and 'letter-writing wasn't on the top of the list of priorities.' The words had hurt and angered Addie, but Louisa's drawing of her school room and teacher had at least cheered her up slightly.

Sirius simply arched his brows. "If you say so." But the face he pulled had Peter chuckling.

"Why did she leave anyway?" Remus asked, chewing his lip like he did when he was concerned. "I was getting O's in DADA when she taught us."

"Yeah, but that's just because she had a crush on you Moony." Sirius grinned. "The old witch couldn't _help_ but give her favourite student top-"

"Oh, shut up Black." Darlene interrupted. "No one wants to hear your sexual fantasies involving Remus and Professor Clutterbuck."

Sirius raised one dark eyebrow, smirking. "Are you saying you want to hear my other sexual fantasies, O'Connell?"

"Maybe I am."

"Well we'll have to do something about that."

Addie watched Sirius and Darlene flirt with a tight feeling in her stomach. For some reason, she found herself unable to watch. How was it so easy for them? Any time a boy so much as looked at her, she wanted to hide behind her mane of hair.

"I think her husband got spattergroit." Lily explained to Remus, glancing between Sirius and Darlene. "That's what Alice said."

"My dad's friend had that." grimaced James. "Nasty thing. The poor bloke was bedridden for months."

"What is it?" Addie asked, drawing her eyes away from Sirius and Darlene, who were laughing.

"It's this really contagious disease that makes people break out in purple blisters." Marlene explained- she was an aspiring healer, and knew lots about different wizarding diseases. "Very horrible- it prevents you from speaking after a while."

"Poor Professor Clutterbuck." Addie muttered. "I hope her husband's okay."

Remus checked his watch. "Where is this guy?" he asked. "It's been fifteen minutes."

"Maybe he's picking out a hot outfit." Susan giggled.

Lily rolled her eyes- she still hadn't fully forgiven the girl for taking Jo's side. "It's not about what he _looks_ like." she stated passionately. "It's about how good of a teacher he is…"

She trailed off as the class went silent, and turned quickly to see their new professor standing by the door. He was a strange looking fellow in his mid-forties with greying black hair, a dark fuzzy moustache and a beard to match. Watching his dark robes fall to the floor, Addie knew that Darlene must be disappointed- he was cruel looking, and not at all handsome. He looked as though, given the right setting, he could win a fight just with one death glare- his expression was blank, and the eyes that bored into Lilly's were cold.

"Are you questioning my ability to teach, young lady?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

Lily blushed a deep scarlet. "No, not at all Professor. I was just-"

"Good. Because I won't tolerate disrespect in my classroom." He spoke the words slowly, his voice carrying across the silent room. Everybody looked disgruntled by the unfairness, as Lily sank into her seat.

Addie scowled deeply. "Please Sir, she was just-"

" _Silence_." He trailed his dark gaze over to Addie, who lifted her chin defiantly, but couldn't stop the slight tremble in her fingers. "And you are?"

"Addie."

"Full name?"

"Addie Reid."

He sighed as though she was deliberately wasting his time, brushing his long fingers across his forehead in an irritated manner. "I said _full_ name, girl. There will be no silly nicknames here."

"Oh." She gulped. "My name's Adelaide- Adelaide Reid."

"Well then, Miss Reid, I would appreciate it if you didn't speak out of turn. Especially when I am disciplining your classmate."

"But Sir, Lily didn't _do_ anything." James argued, glaring at the Professor.

"And who are you to judge that… Mr Potter, isn't it?"

"Yes." James didn't look surprised that the Professor knew his name- his family were well known in the wizarding world. "But we were all here before, when she was talking. And she didn't-"

"That's enough, Mr Potter."

"But-"

"I said that is _enough_!" The professor's cheeks were red as the shout echoed around the room, leaving behind it a painful silence. He finally seemed satisfied, however, and brushed his palms together as though the hard work was done. "Right. Now we have sorted that out, let us begin." he said, firmly. "My name is Professor Edwards, and I am the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher here. I do, however, have past experience and I am fully qualified in this subject, so you will listen carefully to my instructions and obey at all times. Understood?"

The class nodded mutely, internally cursing the professor.

"Good. Open your books to page 192, and we shall start you first topic."

Sullenly, the class obliged, throwing gloomy looks at each other as they did so. It seemed they'd got the teacher from hell, and were in for a long year.

The lesson dragged on painfully slowly, and it was a relief when they finally escaped the dusty confines of the dingy classroom, which obviously hadn't been used in a while. As soon as they stepped into the corridor, the chattering comments began.

"Merlin's beard, that was _awful_." Darlene complained loudly, wrinkling her nose. "I nearly died from boredom."

"Same here." Marlene replied with a sigh.

Lily's eyes were burning like fiery emeralds. "I hate that guy!" she snarled. "Picking on people like that, and he wasn't even a good teacher! We did no practical work, and he barely even explained any of the topics we covered."

"Are you talking about Professor Asshole, by any chance?" came a voice. Marlene, Lily, Addie and Darlene turned round to face Thomas Winters and Ethan Scott. They were both Hufflepuffs in the year above, and friends with Alice and Frank. Both were tall, with only a height difference of an inch or two, but Thomas had light brown hair, littered with golden highlights, where Ethan's was long and dark blonde.

Darlene grimaced. "Who else _would_ we be talking about? Have you guys had him yet?"

"Unfortunately." replied Thomas with an easy grin, his eyes skirting across the group and landing on Addie. "We had him yesterday. He's a right git, isn't he? Ethan ended up looking like a proper plonker." He elbowed his best friend, who laughed.

"I can't deny that. He made me stand up in front of everyone and 'declare my respect', didn't he? I've been a laughing stock all morning."

"I'm sure you'll get over it mate." Thomas chuckled, turning back to face the girls. "Hey, Addie, I heard you were awesome in the quidditch trials, by the way." he said, making the girl blush.

"How did you hear that?" she asked, embarrassed.

He winked. "You know how rumours fly in the world of quidditch." Thomas was captain of the Hufflepuff team, and an excellent chaser. "But congratulations. It's not every day a new talent is found." His eyes were warm and his smile genuine, and Addie couldn't help but beam back.

"Thanks Thomas."

"Call me Tom." He locked eyes with her for a second, before turning back at the other girls.

"Well, we'll see you around, ladies." he said, and with that, they'd disappeared.

Darlene smirked at Addie. "Someone's got the hots for you, you lucky bitch."

She snorted, tugging her bag onto her shoulder. "Whatever, Dar."

That evening, the girls were hanging out in the dorm, wearing varying coloured pyjamas. Marlene was sat on the bed with Addie, braiding her hair whilst Lily and Darlene bickered over the best muggle songs to listen to on the record player. Lily had bought it with her from home two years previously, and they listened to it most nights before bed if they weren't studying.

Addie zoned back into their argument as Marlene finished and the relaxing feel of her friend's fingers gently plaiting her hair ended. It seemed Lily wanted to listen to John Lennon, whilst Darlene was adamant they should listen to Led Zeppelin. It was getting pretty heated, and Marlene grinned, rolling her eyes at Addie. "Those two will be the death of me." she muttered.

"I know." Addie replied, smiling.

"Your hair looks cute, by the way." Marlene said, her eyes scanning the dark braid that ran down her back. She sighed. "I so wish my hair was like yours."

"Mar, are you crazy?" She had to be bluffing; Marlene had perfect hair- the straight golden blonde locks fell down her back, framing her small face. Next to her, Addie looked like a crazy cat lady.

"I'm not crazy- I mean it…" She fingered a strand of her own. "Don't you think mine's kind of boring?"

Before Addie could reply, however, Darlene piped up. It seemed Lily had won the argument, because Imagine was drifting through the dormitory, and she wanted to change the subject.

"Can I ask you lot something?" she said, folding her legs beneath her.

"Sure." said Addie.

"Well… what do you guys think of Andrew Baker?" she asked, running her hands along her tan legs and avoiding their eye contact.

"He's okay…" Lily said slowly, scrutinising her face. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

There was a long pause. "Darlene…" Lily began.

"Alright, alright!" The other witch looked up, and Addie was surprised to see she was blushing. Darlene _never_ got embarrassed. She smirked sheepishly. "You've got me."

"It's ever since you've been sat with him in potions isn't it?" Addie groaned and the girl only blushed harder.

"Wait a second… Isn't Jo going out with him?" Marlene questioned, confused.

"Ssh!" Darlene hissed, looking around, but thankfully Jo and Susan were still in the common room. "Don't you think I _know_ that?"

"So, then what-"

"I don't know, I don't know." Darlene sighed. Seeing their expressions she hurried to continue. "Nothing's _happened_. It's just… when I sit by him in potions he's so sweet, and… and I think I've got a crush on him." She looked up, hesitantly, biting her lip. "Is it that bad?"

Lily ran a hand through her hair. "Well it's not _bad_ , so to say, it's just..." She grimaced. "He's taken, Dar, so you've gotta move on."

"I _know_." She buried her head in her hands. "I just… I wanted to tell you guys."

"He's a bit of an airhead though, isn't he?" Marlene said doubtfully.

Darlene rolled her eyes. "Marlene, _Will_ is an airhead. Andrew's just… charming, I think."

"Will isn't an airhead!" Marlene retorted, irritated. "He's just-"

"Alright, alright guys." Lily said calmingly. "There's no need to argue." She turned to Darlene. "Why don't you just find someone else to gush over? Maybe that'll take your mind of Andrew."

"That's a good idea." Addie commented, "It'll help you get over him."

"Like who?" Darlene said, doubtfully.

"I saw you getting pretty friendly with Sirius black today." Marlene laughed, tugging a blonde strand behind her ear.

Addie swallowed thickly. For some reason, she couldn't picture Sirius and Darlene together. Darlene seemed to be thinking along the same lines, since she pulled a face. "That'd be too weird. And anyway, everyone knows Black's got an on-off thing with Dorcas." Dorcas meadows was a fellow Gryffindor in her seventh year. Tall and willowy with light brown hair and chocolate eyes, she was sought after by all the boys- and Sirius Black was one of the lucky ones who got to be with her.

"That's true." Lily agreed, chewing on her lower lip. She glanced at Marlene. "What about one of Will's friends?"

"No." moaned Darlene. " _Andrew's_ friends with Will, so I'd just end up seeing him all the time…" She groaned. "Oh, it's pointless."

Marlene went to sit beside her, patting her on the back sympathetically. "It's not pointless, Dar. You just need some girl time. Forget about boys and let's just have a fun night, alright?"

Darlene nodded glumly.

"Okay!" Marlene beamed at them all, injecting enthusiasm in her voice. "Enough of this moping- let's have some _real_ fun."

"Real fun?" Addie repeated, dubious.

"Yes!" Marlene's eyes glittered like they always did when she was excited- she was classed at the quiet one, but could be quite rebellious when it came to her friends, and Addie knew she was up to something. Next to her, a small grin had begun to creep up Darlene's face. "Will you do the honours, Dar?" Marlene asked.

Lily shot a bewildered look at Addie, showing that she had just as much knowledge of what they were planning as Addie did, whilst Darlene strode over to the wardrobe. She returned with her arms full of firewhisky and a proud smile on her face.

Lily's eyes widened. "How did you get that into school?" she asked, looking as though she were a mixture of both surprised and impressed.

"Sirius got me some. That's what we were joking about before that awful DADA lesson earlier- but don't mention it to him. He said James would kill him if he found out that he'd sneaked booze in that wasn't for the marauders."

Lily grinned. "Well, I'll drink to that. Anything that will piss Potter off is surely worth doing."

"You do realise it's a Thursday night, Dar." laughed Addie, but still she took the offered bottle.

"Yeah, we were gonna save it for the first quidditch after party," Marlene explained. "But I figured we all needed some cheering up after such a shitty day." She raised her bottle. "To Hogwarts!"

They all cheered.

An hour later and the girls were crying with laughter. The empty bottles lay discarded on the floor as they giggled about the funniest moments they'd shared together. "Remember wheeen… Addieee…" Darlene broke off, bursting into a fit of laughter, that was so contagious it had them all grinning. She was the drunkest of them all, and her words slurred together as she spoke.

"Remember when Addie what?" Lily asked, wiping her eyes.

Darlene gulped. "That time sheee… sheee swam out- into the black lake…"

At that they all burst out laughing- all except Addie, that was, who blushed scarlet. They all knew the story; way back in fourth year, the Gryffindor's had been revising for their end of year exams by the lake, when Sirius had dared Addie to wade in. He stated that she was a wuss since she was terribly afraid of the water, and Addie, being the stubborn arse she was, had taken up the challenge. However, she wasn't a very strong swimmer, and the whole thing didn't end well at all. She'd spluttered and thrashed, and Hagrid had been the one who had waded out into the water to get her, plucking her out of the lake like she was just a wading duck… she had been perfectly fine, with only the loss of her dignity to grieve, but the memory of her covered in seaweed, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, would forever be able to make them crack up.

"Will you guys ever get over that?" Addie asked, rolling her eyes, but she couldn't hide her smile at the memory. She missed the old days, where everybody got along and it felt as though they had no worries in the world.

"No." Marlene stated sombrely, then, "I tell you want… why don't we _go_ somewhere?" She stood up and swung her long blonde hair out of her face, beaming down at them all. She was pretty balanced as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, but the rosiness of her cheeks gave away the fact she'd been drinking.

"Yeah." Darlene agreed. Her brown eyes sparkled with mischief as she warmed to the suggestion. "I say we doo something excitiiing! "

"Like what?" Addie said hesitantly, unsure just what 'exciting' meant to Darlene.

"Let's exploree!" she slurred. "We can go round schoool… sneak down to the kitchens… come _on_ guys!" she frowned, seeing Lily and Addie's dubious expressions.

"It's not a good idea." Lily frowned. "We're tipsy, for Merlin's sake… If McGonagall found us…"

"She _won't_." pressed Darlene, turning her forceful gaze to Addie. "Ads? Wha' _you_ think?"

Addie faltered. The rational part of her knew, as Lily had said, that it was a stupid idea, but her other, more rebellious side, wanted to give her mother something to think about. Maybe then she'd be able to write a response back to her daughter that was actually _decent_. Plus, the firewhisky burned through her veins, making her whole body feel as though it was burning.

She took another swig of her drink. "Dar's right. Let's do it."

Darlene grinned, her face lighting up. "That's my girl! Let's goo!"

They stashed the empty bottles away, and waited a few minutes for Susan to come upstairs. The girl was easily fooled; Lily stated that they were going downstairs, and they did exactly that, traipsing down the winding staircase to the common room, where only a couple of students worked.

"Shall we just go?" Lily whispered. She'd finally come around to the idea after much persuading, and now her smile held the same excitement of the others.

"Yeah. No one will care, I'm sure."

And they were right; they snuck through the portrait hole with no one even batting an eyelid, despite the fact it was past midnight.

The school was silent and deserted as they stepped out into the chilly corridor, but it didn't feel unnerving with them all together. Addie was thankful for her woolly jumper, but still she nestled up to Lily as they traipsed to the kitchens.

They weren't far off, however, when they heard a noise. It wasn't very loud- just a faint crash as though someone had dropped something on the floor, but still the girls jumped, looking around at each other nervously.

"Where did that come from?" Marlene whispered, her eyes wide.

"I don't know." Lily looked pale. "But it sounded quite close."

"Uh-oh," Darlene stumbled, grabbing on to the nearest window-sill for support. Her cheeks had paled, and her usually-sparkling-brown eyes had dulled to a muddy grey colour. "I don't feel so good, guys." Addie sighed internally, but had to admit that the buzz she had had earlier had also begun to fade, and she too felt a bit dizzy.

Lily groaned, grabbing Darlene's arm to steady the wobbly girl. "Come on, let's just get to the kitchens before someone finds us."

They carried on walking- looking like a very strange group indeed: Marlene was tip-toing in front, glancing around nervously; Lily was practically dragging a stumbling Darlene; and Addie followed behind, somewhat queasily.

"We're nearly there." Marlene stated a few minutes later, her face breaking into a relieved smile. "We've just got to-"

But at that moment, she was cut off as a loud crashing rang through the walls, and the girls all turned with shock as they heard footsteps thundering towards them. Seconds later, Remus and Sirius came from around the corner, running as fast as they could. Then, right after them, James and Peter appeared from what seemed to be thin air, pulling a glistening sheet of material off themselves as they ran. The four girls stared, shell-shocked, and the marauders eyes widened as they too, spotted their fellow rule-breakers in the corridor. But then another pattering of feet came, and the distinct sound of Filch's cackle echoed around the corridor- " _I've got you now, boys! Mark my words, this will be the last time you'll be able to slip away!_ "

James swore loudly. "Run!" he commanded, and they all followed without a second thought- even Darlene lumbered along, though a sheen of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

They ran, panting through the corridors, all the while hearing Filch's frantic feet behind then, until the Marauders thundered to a stop in front of an empty wall.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed as James began to pace back and forth, his eyes squeezed shut. "Filch is right on our tail!"

"Just wait and see." Sirius replied. He looked to be rather enjoying himself as he leant against the wall, a handsome grin dancing across his features.

Addie glared at him. "I swear Black, if you're messing with us…"

He let out a bark-like laugh, his grey eyes glittering. " _Relax_ , Reid, we have a plan."

And he was, it seemed, right. For at that moment, much to the girls' surprise, a huge oak door appeared in front of them. James opened his eyes, grinning, and pulled the door open. "After you." he said to a shell-shocked Lily, who assessed him with narrowed eyes before stalking into the room. He wasn't perturbed, however, and he followed her with laughter twinkling in his eyes. The others quickly followed suit, and Peter locked the door firmly behind them.

The four girls looked themselves with awe. The strange, hidden room was small but cosy, and looked pretty similar to the Gryffindor common room; the floor was covered in a plush red carpet, and snug armchairs were littered around, but instead of medieval portraits and old fashioned frames decorating the walls, there were photos of the marauders.

Addie walked along the edge of the wall, looking at the pictures as the four boys grinned and waved at her over and over again: There was one of Sirius and James racing on their broomsticks, both looking competitive as ever; James and Remus smiling at the camera with their arms around each other's shoulders; Remus laughing in the Three Broomsticks with a butterbeer moustache; Peter standing beside James and Sirius, grinning up at his best friends; Sirius on the Hogwarts train, lying across the seat with his legs resting on the glass window as he ate a cauldron cake; Peter scratching the head of a shaggy black dog; Sirius throwing his head back in laughter, sprinkles of snow glistening in his hair- there were ones with other people too; Lily and Marlene giggling next to a sleeping James, whose face now boasted a purple moustache; Frank beaming at the camera as Alice reached up to kiss him on the cheek; James giving a giggling Addie a piggy-back ride, as she clutched onto his neck for dear life; Alice and Susan squeezing Peter in a hug as his ears turned a dark shade of pink; and finally there was one of just Addie on her own, lying on the grass beside the first lake. She frowned as she looked at the picture. Remus had taken it back on that day when she'd nearly drowned, just after Hagrid had rescued her, she remembered. There she was, drying out in the sun and picking out bits of seaweed from her long dark hair, which was still damp. She'd been pissed off at Sirius for daring her to do it, so he'd spent the rest of the day trying to make her laugh- his way of saying sorry, she suspected. When Remus had snapped he picture on his camera, Sirius had just succeeded, and she watched as the girl in the photograph into a fit of laughter, her bright blue eyes lighting up- it seemed so long ago, before the rumours of war had started to spread, before everything had started to change, and she found herself, incredibly, feeling jealous at how happy she had been.

With a jump, she turned to see Remus standing behind her, a knowing smile on his face. "I remember taking that." he muttered, softly, looking at the moving image. "Seems like years ago."

She laughed, moving away from the wall. "It _was_ years ago, Remus."

"You know what I mean." he replied, and she did know.

"So what do you think?" asked James, tugging her from her thoughts.

Addie smiled at him. "It's amazing." she told the grinning boy. "What is this place? How did you find it?"

"It's called the Room of Requirement." James explained, happily, "We found it in our second year when we started the-"

Obviously, he was going to share a secret, because Sirius chucked a book at him, silently warning him to shut up. James looked slightly awkward, scratching his head, but Marlene distracted him. "So, why is it here?" she asked quizzically, running her hand along one of the fraying sofas.

He shrugged. "We don't have a clue. Only thing we do know is that if you walk back and forth three ties, almost anything you want will appear."

"Really?" Lily looked fascinated at the prospect. "But how does it work? I've read about disappearing rooms in 'Hogwarts A History', but never ones that _change_ depending on your needs."

"I think it's just one of the mysteries of Hogwarts." Remus said, with a smile.

" _Anyway_ ," Peter said, frowning, "what are you lot doing up?"

For the first the since bumping into the Marauders, the girls looked embarrassed.

"We had a bit to drink." Lily muttered, blushing. "And Dar persuaded us to sneak to the kitchens." She gestured to Darlene who was sat on the floor, still looking queasy from the run.

James raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Drinking? You lot?"

"Shut up James." Addie replied, rolling her eyes. "You've been supplying drinks to parties since fifth year."

"True." he admitted with a grin. "But how do _you_ lot know where the kitchens are?"

"I know more than you give me credit for, Potter." Lily smirked, repeating the words he'd said to her.

He chuckled warmly. "I'm sure you do."

"What I want to know," Darlene interrupted, "is what that _thing_ was that you appeared out of?"

Sirius frowned, puzzled. "What thing?"

"I don't know- but James and Peter seemed to just appear from thin air."

"Oh." Realisation dawned on the boys, and they glanced at each other.

Addie laughed. "I get the feeling that that's a conversation for another time, Dar."

Darlene smirked. "I thought so."

And just at that moment, she threw up all over the floor.

It was late by the time they got back to the Gryffindor common room, and they were all exhausted. Peter had quickly led Darlene to the toilet, (which apparently had been used many timed by the boys on their drunken nights out exploring the castle), and when she finally felt better, they headed back. Unfortunately for the marauders, they also had to return through the corridors uncovered, since James had quickly stashed the invisibility cloak behind an armchair when they entered the Room of Requirement- but they all managed to return to their beds without getting caught, (again), by Filch.

Over the next couple of days, once they'd all recovered, Addie thought about the marauders hiding place, and how they'd kept it secret for so long. It seemed somewhat strange for them, since James and Sirius had never really been modest when it came to their accomplishments- well never in class anyway, but in a way, it made her happy. Knowing that those four stupid pranksters cared so much about their friends and each other- truly cared- was nice, to say the least.

And for some strange reason, she couldn't get those pictures out of her mind- especially the one which reminded her so vividly of that day by the lake- for she knew that things would never go back to how they were.


	6. Impetuous Behaviour

Impetuous Behaviour

Addie stared at the sheet in front of her. There, written in James's scruffy scrawl was her name with the word ' _seeker'_ next to it in bold. And as if to give her even more proof of her accomplishment, beside the position there was a moving picture of her smiling quietly, her dark hair falling around her shoulders.

James had told her confidently the day before that she was by far the best player there to try out for seeker, but it still hadn't really hit home until now, when her name was written clearly in front of her. She was the Gryffindor _seeker_. Her stomach turned to liquid as she thought of that- all the days spent as a chaser, practicing outside come rain or shine for the past two years- were wasted. Now, she had a whole new goal- one that didn't revolve around teamwork and passing and scoring, but catching the snitch. Alone. The thought of flying up there all by herself was enough to make her feel sick, but she also felt exhilarated too. Part of her wanted to run and hide, but the other half couldn't wait to jump on her broom and start training.

"Congrats, Ads." came a voice. She looked up to see Sirius grinning down at her. "I told you that you could do it."

Addie raised her eyebrows. "Are you telling me that you weren't surprised when you saw that snitch?"

He laughed. "Well… may be a little, but I had every hope you'd pull through." He winked at her and she laughed, turning back to the board to see who else had made the team. It was a relief to see Frank, Sirius and Darlene's names there, even though she knew they were bound to make it, good as they were.

"It'll be strange up there on my own- without James and Darlene." she commented.

"Yeah, I reckon it will. You're a born flyer though… in fact, I don't know why James didn't try you out for seeker sooner."

"Maybe I was too good as a chaser." she suggested, grinning.

Sirius rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes filled with laughter. "Hmm, could be… Or maybe you're just too short."

Addie's eyes narrowed dangerously. " _Hey_. I'll get you for that, Black."

He let out a bark of laughter, fleeing through the portrait hole with Addie close on his heels. The Fat Lady let out a startled scream as they flew past, before continuing to reel off a torrent of curse words, most of which were _not_ meant for the first-year's ears.

Addie chased him through the corridors, laughing hysterically as they manoeuvred past startled students, who jumped out the way. By the time they turned the corner, she had almost caught up to him, her fingers just brushing his shirt…

"Sirius Black, Adelaide Reid." came a sharp voice. They both stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face Professor Edwards- the new Defence Against the Dark Art's teacher. He was a strange looking fellow in his mid-forties with greying black hair, a dark fuzzy moustache and a beard to match. Darlene had been sorely disappointed when he'd entered the class, his long black robe billowing around him in a fairly elegant fashion.

"Do you care to explain just exactly _what_ you were doing?" he asked, raising his arched eyebrows.

Sirius looked completely unintimidated by the professor, his hands tucked casually in his pockets and that signature smirk playing on his lips, so much so that Addie had to envy him- Professor Edwards was a pretty scary looking guy. She rolled her eyes at the laid back boy, turning back to the teacher. "Sorry sir. We were just messing around." she explained.

"I see." He pursed his lips. "I hope you understand that whilst it may seem to be _just_ that to you, I'm afraid that your 'messing around' has disrupted my lesson, Miss Reid. And I have no other option than to put you both in detention on Saturday. For two weeks."

"What?" Addie exclaimed. "But Sir, that's hardly fair…"

His lips quirked up. "What is fair in life, Miss Reid?"

The sarcasm dripping in his voice irritated her; he was so patronising. "Professor _McGonagall_ is fair." Addie blurted out, angrily. "Other teachers are fair. And this certainly isn't. You're just going to give us detention for… for _having a laugh_?"

"I certainly am, Miss Reid. And it'll be three weeks if you're not careful."

"Well, _make_ it three weeks then. See if I-"

"Addie." Sirius interrupted, chuckling. "Please shut up."

"I believe Mr Black is right." Professor Edwards said, tapping a pale finger to his lips. "… for once, that is. You need to learn when to shut your mouth, little girl."

Sirius cocked his eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure she knows herself when to be quiet and when not to, thanks."

Edwards glared at him. "How _dare_ you use that tone with me, young man." he spat. "Thirty points from Gryffindor."

"What? Thirty points!?" Addie repeated. "Sir, I don't know which school you used to teach at…"

"Durmstrang, girl. A place where rules were well enforced and punishments were taken with dignity."

"Durmstrang? You taught at Durmstrang?" Sirius repeated, showing a bit of interest for the first time.

"Yes. And I can assure you we didn't have to put up with this kind of attitude from blood traitors like you." he murmured. Sirius's jerked as if he'd just been electrocuted.

"What the fuck did you just say?" he growled, his laid-back demeanour long forgotten.

Edwards smirked, his eyes glinting dangerously as he took a step forward. "Don't act dumb boy. I know your family- how do you think they feel seeing you hanging about with mudblood scum like this?" He gestured to Addie. "Well, I suppose they _don't_ care now they've thrown you out into the-"

Sirius's fist connected with his face before he could finish.

The professor stumbled back, drawing his wand, but before he had the chance Sirius was diving on him as though he'd forgotten he even owned a wand- pummelling his fists into his face until blood was pouring from his nose and his face was a swollen lump.

" _Sirius_!" cried Addie, trying to drag the raging boy off of him. " _Sirius_ , _stop_!"

But he didn't. The scene was a blur of fists until, eventually, Edwards slumped backwards, his head hitting the floor with a thump, and Addie managed to drag Sirius off of him. The boy's hair, usually so perfectly groomed, was stuck to his face with sweat, and he was breathing heavily as Addie held him back. She looked him over and was relieved to see that, apart from a split lip, he seemed fine.

He smirked at her, as though unaffected by the blood smeared across his face, but his eyes were missing their familiar twinkle. "So, when are you going to start proclaiming your thanks?" he asked.

Addie glared. "Never. I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Black." she replied, cleaning up the splatter of blood on the floor with a wave of her wand.

He frowned at her. "But you _heard_ what he said-"

"Yes I did. And I can look after myself perfectly well, thank you very much." She wasn't sure why, but she was irritated. Irritated that he'd just jump to her rescue like that, and irritated that now she felt partly to blame.

Addie suddenly noticed that a crowd of spectators, (mainly a group of shocked first years), had circled around the scene. Some stared with horror at Edwards's limp body, but most were looking at Sirius in awe. Just as she was about to tell them to bog off, however, McGonagall appeared, with a spluttering Slughorn in tow.

"What _happened_?" The witch gaped, her eyes whipping back between Sirius and Edwards. "Sirius… did you do this?"

The boy didn't respond, and simply stared at the floor. McGonagall looked at him for a long moment before turning to Slughorn briskly. "Horace, tend to Altair until Poppy gets here."

She pointed at Addie and Sirius. "You two, come with me."

The trek to Dumbledore's office felt longer than usual, and the tension in the air was so thick it threatened to consume Addie. Sirius no longer looked at the floor, but walked stiffly, his chin raised and his expression unreadable. Occasionally, Addie threw furtive glances at him, but he continued to look ahead, his eyes hard as steel. She grimaced inwardly, knowing she'd pissed him off.

Eventually, they reached a stone gargoyle, which leapt aside to bid them entry into a rounded staircase once McGonagall had uttered the password, ("sugared violet"). It was Addie's first time in the headmaster's office, so her mouth fell open in awe as the stairs began to move, but neither Sirius nor McGonagall seem surprised.

They arrived at the wooden oak door, and McGonagall knocked firmly before ushering them inside. Addie followed Sirius timidly, unsure what to expect.

Once they entered the huge, circular office, her eyes were immediately drawn to the numerous instruments that twinkled around the room- an assortment of shapes and sizes. A number of silver plates seemed to be dancing on the shelves next to strange metal objects that ticked and whirred, bringing the office to life. Beside Dumbledore's desk, a bright red baby bird was sleeping on a perch, the tiny movement of his chest being the only proof that he was still breathing.

The old man himself was sat at his desk, but he looked up as they entered as though he were expecting them. "Please take a seat." he said quietly. Addie and Sirius did so silently, and Dumbledore turned his questioning gaze to McGonagall. "Minerva, would you please care to explain this?" he inquired, his blue eyes twinkling.

McGonagall sighed. "I found these two with Professor Edwards… an _unconscious_ Professor Edward's, I should add. It seemed Mr Black had… assaulted him."

There was a pause.

"I see." Dumbledore said, his eyes boring into Sirius's. "And is this correct, Sirius?"

The dark-haired boy met his gaze evenly. "Yes, Sir. But it wasn't without cause. Professor Edwards, he… provoked me."

"Provoked you?" scowled McGonagall. "How, exactly?"

Addie sighed, knowing Sirius needed someone to back him up. "Professor, please," she said, turning to Dumbledore. "He called Sirius a blood traitor. And me… he called me a mudblood."

There was a heavy silence in the room as the two professor's took in her words. Addie met Dumbledore's gaze, and she could feel his eyes probing her own, searching them. She blinked, breaking the contact, and he frowned as if something troubled him deeply. He turned to McGonagall, his eyes unreadable. "I understand that Professor Edwards may not be the victim here, Minerva. It seems Mr Black was only standing up for himself and his friends. There will be no punishment."

Addie and Sirius shared a disbelieving look; McGonagall's mouth was set in a firm line, but she kept her thoughts on the matter to herself.

" _However_ ," Dumbledore continued, his grave eyes boring into Sirius's, "I would have thought by now that you would have learnt your lesson, Mr Black- that is about acting without thinking." Sirius looked away, ashamed, and Addie glanced at him curiously. It seemed something must have happened in the past that she didn't know about- but the boy was always getting in trouble, and it was hard to keep up. "I expected better Sirius," the headmaster said, "but I believe you have learnt your lesson. Now, could you take Mr Black to the hospital wing, please Minerva, and once Poppy has patched up Professor Edwards- which I'm sure she has done so by now- be sure to send him to me. It seems we have a few staff arrangements to make. I will make sure to ask for his resignation right away."

McGonagall nodded firmly. "Right away, Professor."

"You know," Will said to Marlene, as he scribbled down the potions ingredients for wolfsbane. "It's really off-putting when you watch me like that."

They'd been sat in the library for half an hour now, and Marlene had been staring at him thoughtfully for a good five minutes, taking in every laughter line indented in his chocolate coloured skin and admiring the way his hand brushed quickly over the page. She jumped slightly at his words, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.

A grin flashed across Will's cheeks. "I'm only kidding." he laughed, closing the book he'd been copying from. "You don't need to worry so much."

"You're right." she sighed, running a frustrated hand through her long blonde hair. "I'm sorry Will. I know I've been jumpy and uptight recently… I guess I'm just stressed with everything going on."

"Oh, right. You mean everything with your dad." He watched her closely. Recently, he'd had the feeling that it wasn't _just_ her dad and his job being in jeopardy that was on her mind. There was something else too, but he didn't want to push it; she'd tell him when she wanted to.

"I just…" She glanced at him. "I just worry that he _will_ be fired. And then we'd really be broke, and I wouldn't have a clue what to do. It's stupid really."

"It's not stupid, Mar. It's normal to worry about the ones you care about… Like I worry about you." He squeezed her hand and she smiled at him, thankfully, before gently pulling away. It didn't go unnoticed and he frowned slightly, but busied himself with putting away his books so she didn't see.

Marlene watched with guilt pricking at her chest as he turned to the shelves and began putting away his books. She knew that she shouldn't be leading Will on like this when she was trying to figure out her feelings for herself. But she couldn't bear to break up with him when they still liked each other so much. _Anyway_ , she thought, _maybe this thing with Remus_ is _just a crush_. _How will I feel then if my feelings disappear, and I'm left with no one?_ Will had always been there for her too, and she couldn't just throw him away and hurt him because she _thought_ she felt something for someone else. That just wasn't right.

And in that moment, Marlene found herself decided in what she'd do.

She'd ignore her feelings for Remus until they left, and continue to be with Will. A relationship with him was safe and secure, and she could say with certainty that the boy liked her back. Anyway, the main thing was that she was _happy_ , right? And with him, she was.

"Checking out your boyfriends butt, are we Marlene?"

She jumped as James appeared, plopping onto the seat next to her. His eyes were laughing and he wore a lazy grin that seem to slip so easily onto his handsome face.

"You got me, James." she said, laughing along with him. But then her curiosity got the better of her, and she frowned. "Wait a second… what are _you_ doing in the library?" The marauders, excluding Remus, were rarely seen in the place that was the opposite of everything they stood for- the library was quiet and studious, where they were always the loudest in the room, the ones who always managed to do well without studying.

The question caught James off guard, since he _had_ been plotting a prank, but since it was meant to be a secret he had to make something up. He scratched his head awkwardly. "Oh, er, I was just reading up on some stuff for…"

But before he could come up with what was sure to be a _very_ bad lie, Will spotted him.

"Oi, Potter, hands off my girl!" he joked, sitting down in the seat next to Marlene and snaking an arm round his chair. Despite his relaxed demeanour, Marlene couldn't help but feel that the gesture was territorial.

"Hi there Will." James greeted. "How did Hufflepuff's quidditch trials go?"

Will's brow furrowed. "I'm don't play quidditch."

"Oh, I know." James amended. "But, er, didn't you go and watch?"

There was a pause. "…I don't appreciate being your tactical spy, Potter." Will commented finally, casting a long glance at the Gryffindor captain.

Marlene's brow creased, and she gave him a gentle shove. "Will, that's _rude_." she chastised him, casting a worried glance at James.

"Just being honest." her boyfriend grumbled.

"But James didn't mean it like that…"

"Don't worry about it." James said, shrugging off the jibe. He winked at her, just to irritate the touchy boy sat next to her, and felt some satisfaction as he got the reaction he'd wanted- Will's hands curled into fists. "We all know who will win the cup this year." he added, just for good measure, flashing them both a grin.

"Anyway, I was just wondering if you've seen O'Connell?"

"Um," Marlene thought for a moment. "I think she headed outside for a while, but she should be back by now. She's probably in the common room."

"Okay thanks." He glanced at Will. "I better get going then. See you around, Mar."

Marlene frowned. "James wait! You don't have to…" But the boy was already gone, lolloping out of the library.

She turned to Will, scowling. "Why did you have to do that?"

"Do what?" he asked, still glaring after the marauder.

"You know what." she muttered, but decided to leave it. Arguing over something so trivial wouldn't do any good.

James sauntered down the corridor, mulling over the conversation with Marlene's Hufflepuff bloke. Will had come across a bit of a git, he had to admit, but James wasn't really in the mood for a fight. He had other stuff on his mind- first, talking tactics with Darlene, and then the marauders latest prank, and he wasn't going to let a stupid Hufflepuff kid ruin his good mood…

"Potter!" Before he could think it over too much, a familiar voice rang through the corridor, breaking his train of thought. He turned around quickly to see a breathless Lily running up to him, her red-hair flying around like a burning halo. She paused to catch her breath, clutching at her side.

"What's the matter?" James asked, frowning.

"It's Sirius." Lily explained, and the words filled James with dread. "Him and Addie, they got into some sort of fight with Professor Edwards." Seeing his expression, she quickly amended herself. "They're both okay, I think. But they're in the hospital wing now. I thought I'd come find you before I went."

James raised her eyebrows, watching her closely. "Thanks for telling me, Evans." he finally said.

Lily gave him a curt nod. "You would have done it for me." she said, simply. "Now, let's go."

They entered the hospital wing and immediately laid eyes on their friends. Sirius was sitting on one of the beds, holding an icepack to his bloody lip, and Addie stood next to him. She was fiddling with her robes like she always did when she anxious, but as soon as she spotted James and Lily, her eyes lit up with relief.

"You're here!" she breathed.

The pair ran over to greet her, and Lily threw a worried look at Sirius. "What happened?" she asked, glancing between the two of them. Her brow was creased with a deep frown. "And how the hell did you get into a fight with a _teacher_ , Black?"

Sirius cracked a grin, then winced at the pain it obviously gave him to do so. "You know I can provoke anybody with my charming wit and devilish ways, Evans."

Addie and Lily groaned at the same time, but James just looked at his best friend with incredulity. "Even _I_ don't know how you had the guts to punch the bloke, Pads, and I've been in my fair share of fights…"

Sirius's gaze darkened. "Trust me, you would have done the same."

James's brow furrowed as he tried to read the emotion in the other boy's eye, but it seemed Sirius got bored after a minute of this, for he sighed deeply.

" _Fine_. I'll tell you..." he said, glancing at Addie. "The scum bag called Addie a mudblood, and me a blood traitor. That's why I punched him."

"He did _what_?" James replied, his jaw clenching with anger.

Lily's eyes were wide. "How could they employ someone like that at Hogwarts?" she asked, perplexed. "Surely Dumbledore would have _checked_ …"

"Well obviously he didn't." Sirius's voice was gruff, as he glared around at them. "He could have been a death eater for all we know."

"But he wasn't." Addie replied, rolling her eyes. Three heads swivelled towards her and she sighed, sitting on the bed next to Sirius. "Look, I know the guy was a judgemental pig, but he's gone now." Her gaze rested sternly on the boy next to her. "And I appreciate you looking out for me, but don't you think you're being a bit melodramatic? It was one guy, one time."

James frowned. "Yeah, but Addie-"

"No, I mean it." she interrupted, her eyes burning. "I don't want to sit here wasting my breath on that bastard. I don't know about you, but I'm going to get on with my life. I'm going to get over it and just hope to merlin the next DADA teacher isn't as much of a train wreck as this one was." She stood up, determinedly. "Well? Lily, are you coming?" She raised her eyebrow at the red-head who met her gaze and nodded firmly.

"Of course I am."

The two girls left together, but just as they reached the doors, Addie swung back around.

"Oh, and next time, Black," she said, her lips pursed. "Let _me_ punch the guy."

The doors swung closed behind them before the marauders could utter a word.

'Well, that was eventful." Lily commented dryly, as they walked down the corridor.

Addie flashed her a smirk. "And I meant every word. Sirius needs to wake up and realise that I won't be his damsel in distress."

Lily frowned. "Addie-"

" _Please_ don't give me a lecture on being unreasonable, Evans, or I will have hex your hair off." she interrupted matter-of-factly.

"But-"

Addie inched towards her wand threateningly, and Lily sighed, her face cracking into a grin as she shoved her best friend. "Come on, you psychopathic witch. Let's go find Darlene."

And together they headed back to the common room.

As they approached the portrait hole, however, the girls spotted a familiar blonde Ravenclaw who seemed to be in the middle of some sort of argument with the Fat Lady.

"Listen, it'd really do no harm at all if you would just let me in for a _second_ …" Colin was saying, his voice filled with frustration.

"I will do no such thing!" she squawked, gazing at him as if he had just deeply insulted her. "There is a password for a _reason_ , young man."

"I know that. I'm just saying would it be _possible-_ "

"No! No matter how handsome you might be, no one is allowed in without the password…" she trailed off as Addie and Lily approached, their eyebrows raised. "Ah, there you are girls. This gentleman has been quite impatient with me- rather rude actually. Would you _please_ care to explain to him why I can't give him the password? I have more important business to attend to."

She flounced off and appeared in the portrait on the left, where she immediately began gossiping with a bunch of ladies who were all sat around a dinner table. Colin gave her a filthy look before turning around to face them- his eyes lighting up as he saw Lily. "There you are!'' he grinned, "Looking as beautiful as always.''

Lily blushed crimson, but Addie rolled her eyes, gagging internally. She'd figured that he hadn't been complementing her.

"Hi Colin." the red-head greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to find you." He took a step towards her, completely ignoring Addie, who stood at the side, her arms folded crossly as she waited for Lily to swipe him down.

But, surprisingly, she didn't.

Instead, Addie's eyes widened in surprise as Lily giggled- yes _giggled_ \- smiling at Colin as though she was ready to be shagged there and then.

"Why were you coming to find me?" Lily asked sweetly. Addie's mouth fell open. What had happened to _Lily Evans_ \- the first to complain about the teenage male population and their no-good smells, actions and vocabulary? It was like her best friend had had a brain transplant.

"Well…" Colin glanced at Addie. "I was wondering if we could talk somewhere more private."

For the first time, Lily seemed to notice her best friend standing there too. Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "Oh. Well… if that's alright with you Ads." She looked expectantly at her best friend, who raised her eyebrows but declined to comment on Lily's attitude change.

"Sure." she said simply.

Lily flashed her a thankful smile before taking Colin's offered hand, and Addie watched her disappear down the corridor, practically skipping as she went.

Huffing, she returned to the common room and collapsed onto one of the puffy chairs. It seemed that she and Lily would be having words later.

Darlene slammed down her book- not caring if it got covered in mud and grass stains. She was fed up of this- it was midday and she couldn't finish the stupid charms essay she'd been working on _all_ fucking morning. She'd gone outside when it had been too cramped inside, but nothing seemed to help. Now it was just the tweeting of the bids irritating her, rather than he scratching of quills.

"You alright, Darlene?" Came a friendly voice.

She swivelled around angrily, ready to tell whoever it was to mind their own, but hesitated when she spotted the boy in front of her.

Andrew Baker stood there, smiling down at her. He had fairly short and stocky, but his hair was fell in warm curls, and his skin was a clear, tan colour- only a few shades lighter than hers. He seemed to be hesitating.

"Can I sit down?" he asked, finally.

She only paused for a few seconds before replying. "Sure." She moved over to make room for him.

There was a long pause.

"So," he finally said, still cheerfully, "What's is it that's pissed you off?"

Usually, she would have made a sarcastic comment, or ignored him completely, but she found that she didn't want to. She liked how he was straight to the point, and the fact that he actually seemed to _care_.

"A lot of things- but mainly this stupid essay." she admitted, gesturing to the parchment in front of her. "I suck at Charms."

He raised his eyebrow and picked it up. "Well… I would offer you some advice, but it just so happens I suck too." He grinned boyishly, and she found herself smiling. "But I can help you take your mind off it, if you want?"

She sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, maybe a distraction _is_ what I need."

"Cool." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, placing one between his teeth. "Want one?" he offered, an eyebrow raised.

Darlene hesitated. She didn't smoke- in fact, she despised the habit- but maybe a change of attitude was what she needed. She took one and placed it between her teeth, like Andrew, and he lit it for her before taking a deep drag of his own and looking out over the Hogwarts grounds.

"Nice spot here. Do you come out a lot to work?"

Darlene took a drag, and coughed slightly, eliciting a smile from Andrew. She laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah. Well, I came here a lot last year in the summer. Mainly when my friends were annoying me."

Andrew chuckled. "Yeah, my mates get on my nerves a lot too."

She couldn't imagine that; Andrew was constantly smiling- she could never picture him anything but happy.

"So what brings _you_ out here?" she asked.

He chucked her another grin, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Why did he have this kind of effect on her? "This and that." he replied, vaguely. "But let's not talk about me. I want to know all about you, Darlene."

The way he said her name- low and huskily- sent shivers down her spine. "You do?" she asked, her voice sounding squeaky to her own ears.

"Sure." He shuffled closer to her, and her breathing quickened. "I haven't been able to stop thinking of you since that potions lesson we had together."

"You haven't?" In this proximity it was hard to thing straight. What was wrong with her? She was always the stubborn one- the one who struck boys down with the sting of her tongue and never got caught up on their looks, or their smell…

Andrew was leaning in, and every part of her body was telling her to lean in too- she was aching to know what those lips would feel like on hers- but something held her back.

"What about Jo?" she blurted out, just as his lips were centimetres from hers.

He halted, frowning for the first time as his dark brows dipped low on his forehead. 'What about her?" he asked, carefully.

"Well she made out that you two, you know… had a thing." _I thought you were fuckbuddies_ , she muttered internally, but kept her mouth shut.

He sighed and leant back, waving his hand dismissively and taking another drag of his cigarette. "Oh, that's nothing- _she's_ nothing."

"Then why-"

"Look, Darlene, I'm here with _you_ okay?" He gestured to the place where they sat together. "Why would I be about to kiss you if I didn't care about you?"

She frowned- he was, after all, right, but still the nagging voice in the back of her head held her back. She picked up her quill and parchment, and stood up.

"What are you doing?" Andrew asked, frowning.

 _I don't have a clue,_ she thought.

"Look. I like you a lot Andrew, really I do…. but I'm sorry; I don't kiss boys who are taken."

And with that, Darlene walked away.


	7. Burning Questions

As it turned out, Addie didn't have a chance to question Lily on her very un-Lily like behaviour, since she ended up spending the whole night listening to Darlene's plans for quidditch practise. The girl had bombarded her as soon as she stepped foot in the common room- not that Addie minded, she wanted to win just as much as the rest of them.

Friday soon sped by, and with the start of quidditch practises fast approaching, Addie couldn't wait for the weekend. Recently, she had found herself struggling to keep up in her classes- mainly because of the huge workload they had, so she was also desperately looking forward some time to relax and get it all done. However, her sleeping patterns had definitely improved, for which she was thankful, (although the nightmares did still plague her, and she found herself waking up a cold sweat a couple times a week), so at least she could get through her classes without falling asleep.

Her last period on Friday was transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, and unsurprisingly, she was running late.

By the time Addie finally made it to class, panting slightly, McGonagall was just briefing the class. She shot a stern look her way, but said nothing as Addie slipped into a spare seat next to Lily. No one really seemed to be paying attention apart from her: Sirius was swinging lazily back on his chair as usual; Marlene was doodling on a scrap piece of parchment; Remus was falling asleep with his head in his hands, looking either tired or _extremely_ hungover, and James and Darlene were charming a paper aeroplane to fly right at his head and, (hopefully) wake him up. Addie glanced at Lily, who was watching the two disapprovingly.

"Oh come on Lils. Lighten up a bit." she said, elbowing the girl next to her.

"What? I didn't say anything."

Addie rolled her eyes. "Your expression says it all. They're only having a laugh."

Lily raised her eyebrows loftily, dipping her quill in ink as she began to write down what McGonagall was saying. "At the expense of Remus." But her haughty look faltered as her eyes fell on the boy, worry seeping into her eyes. She glanced hesitantly at Addie. "He always gets like this… tired and frail. Have you noticed?"

Addie nodded. She remembered mentioning it to Remus way back in third year, and how his face had paled even more so than usual, as though he'd seen a ghost. He'd spluttered there for a minute or so before James and Sirius had swooped to his rescue, cracking jokes about Remus overworking himself. Addie hadn't mentioned it since then.

"I wonder if he has some kind of illness." Lily mused. "-Anaemia or something. Though you'd think that Madame Pomfrey could sort that out…"

"I guess so." Addie replied, biting her nails; her mum always nagged her to stop- _'it's a disgusting habit_ '- but it helped her think. "Maybe he just doesn't sleep well."

"Hmm. Maybe." They lapsed into silence as Lily continued to make notes and Addie watched James and Darlene's not so discreet attempts at poking Remus with a quill. It seemed they'd given up on the whole paper aeroplane idea.

Finally, Addie got it off her chest. 'Lily, I need to ask you something." she admitted.

"Mmhm?"

"It's, um, it's about you and Colin."

"Colin?" She looked up in surprise, her eyebrows arching raised questioningly. "What about him?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you guys were, you know…" Addie trailed off, trying to read the expression in Lily's eyes.

"Oh." The red-head blushed, setting down her quill. "Well, I'm not sure really. He _is_ very nice."

"Just nice?"

She sighed. "I don't really know how I feel about him. I mean, I know everyone's meant to like him since he's so handsome, and popular and all that… but I'm not really sure if there's any chemistry."

"You don't?" Addie repeated, relief apparent in her voice. She couldn't imagine Lily dating the smarmy git.

"No, yes… Oh, I don't know." She put her head in her hands. "Maybe I just need to get to know him more… He's asked me to the next Hogsmeade weekend, actually."

Addie's eyes widened. "The next Hogsmeade weekend? But they haven't even planned when the first one is yet!" She was starting to like this guy less and less.

"I know." Lily blushed. "I haven't accepted yet, but I thought it was rather chivalrous of him."

Addie rolled her eyes. "You mean just because he didn't drag you to a broom cupboard for a snog?! Lily, that boy is the farthest thing from chivalrous I have ever met."

"Well, whatever." Lily huffed. "I said I haven't accepted yet." She looked mildly annoyed, but Addie couldn't help but notice the way her eyes flickered over to James's messy head again.

"Miss Evans, if you would please grace me with your attention, I would be very honoured." McGonagall said, her lips pursed.

"Sorry Professor." Lily muttered, her cheeks turning pink. Addie smirked to herself.

McGonagall nodded. "Yes well, as I was saying… The Bird-Conjuring Charm is a very complicated and advanced form of transfiguration. I expect many of you to struggle with it, so do some research before we begin practising next week. If any of you have any questions, please see me after class. For now, we will go over Conjuring Spells…"

As they left the classroom with the rest of the thick mob of people, Addie noticed a flicker of blue out of the corner of her eye. She turned just in time to see Brenda disappearing into the girl's toilet, now sporting two sea-blue plaits that brushed the top of her shoulders. Muttering an excuse to her friends, she quickly followed her.

"Brenda!" The girl turned around in surprise, but a quick grin appeared on her face when she saw Addie.

"Oh, hey there, Addie. I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know." smiled Addie, scanning Brenda's uniform. "So, you were sorted into Ravenclaw? I was wondering about that."

"Yeah, they let me do it in Professor McGonagall's office." she shrugged. "It'd be pretty embarrassing to be sorted with the first years."

Addie laughed. "Yeah, I thought they might… How are you finding it? Have you made many friends?"

"I have actually. It's nothing like my parents said it would be- everyone's lovely here. And they even think my condition's 'awesome'." She was positively beaming at the prospect.

"That's because it is." Addie frowned. "Look, Brenda… you need to know that being a metamorphmagus is a gift, not a condition. I think your parents have bought you up to be scared, but you shouldn't have to be."

Brenda looked away, embarrassed. "Thanks Addie."

"I mean it." Addie's eyes blazed suddenly as she looked at the girl. Why had her parents bought her up to think she was worth so little? They should have been supporting her. "You should be proud of who you are."

"I think…" she sighed, her magenta eyes sad. "I think I'm learning to be. Finally."

Addie smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Down here!" James called, blowing his whistle, and the seven very worn out members of the Gryffindor team landed in a semi-circle around him. Addie, arriving somewhat awkwardly, stumbled into Darlene, who grinned, giving her a shove.

"Watch where you're going, Ads." she said, rolling her eyes.

Sirius smirked. "How is it you're good at this again? Your balance is terrible."

"Shove off, Black." Addie replied, scrunching up her face, but she quietened as James turned to face them. He was grinning.

"Well done today, guys. You were pretty great out there- I'd say if we're lucky we stand a chance at beating the others to the cup."

Sirius scoffed. "Screw lucky." he replied. "We'll smash it."

James rolled his eyes but ignored him. "Darlene, awesome job- that goal you scored was incredible; Addie, you were great; Ivy, you need to work a little bit on hand-eye co-ordination. Just make sure you're ready for it when the ball comes your way." It was Ivy Peterson's first year on the team, and they'd all warmed to her pretty soon- she was a friendly girl with striking dark skin and a contagious smile, whom you couldn't help but like. She nodded seriously at James, her shiny black pony tail moving up and down as she did so. James carried on. "Sirius and Zach- I'm glad to see you guys have still got your swing, but you need to make sure you aim the bludgers at the _opposing_ team." Earlier in training, Ivy had caught a stray bludger and ended up with a sprained wrist. Darlene had quickly sorted it out, (she excelled in healing charms), but James had pointed out that Sirius and Zack were meant to be _stopping_ the bludgers from hitting their teammates instead of aiming at them. Zach nodded sheepishly, and Sirius grinned at Ivy.

"Sorry about that." he said, winking at her and causing a blush to rise on her cheeks.

"Oh, and Frank, great keeping as per usual." James finished, ignoring his flirtatious best friend. "I'll see you all again next week- but keep up the good work."

They dispersed and made their way up to the changing rooms, babbling excitedly about the first game, which was a few weeks away.

"Who would have guessed? Adelaide Reid is a budding new seeker." Darlene joked, swinging an arm around Addie's shoulder. Addie laughed.

"Even I couldn't have foreseen this."

"Even _Alice_ couldn't have foreseen this, and her aunt's the divination teacher."

"That's true…" she paused. "Has anyone ever told you that you smell of sweat Dar?" Addie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Hey!" Darlene slapped her arm. "At least I don't smell as bad as you."

"Quidditch really does bring out the worst in everyone." she grinned.

"There was never a truer word spoken."

Sirius helped James put away the quidditch balls, before they followed the others. Ahead of them, Addie and Darlene bickered about something as they walked to the changing rooms, and he chuckled as Addie shoved the taller girl, throwing back her head with laughter.

James crooked his brow. "Admiring the view, Pads?" he questioned with a smirk, as he closed the lid of the chest.

"No." Sirius replied shortly. He swung his broomstick over his shoulder and grabbed the other side of the chest.

James grinned knowingly, but then his smile faltered. "… you do realise it's the full moon tomorrow?"

Sirius groaned, sweeping a dark lock of hair out of his eyes. " _Fuck_. Already? It feels like yesterday when I got that scrape on my arm…" He shot James a sideways look. "You didn't tell him about that did you?"

"Of course not." James replied dismissively, as they started walking. "You know how he gets when he switches into Mother Moony Mode."

Sirius laughed, preparing his best Remus impression. "' _I knew this would happen! I can't believe you didn't_ say _anything!"_

James grinned. "' _It's all my fault. I_ _won't let you come out with me again!_ ' … you would have thought after being friends with a guy for six years he would have figured that we weren't going anywhere."

They lapsed into comfortable silence as they made their way up the hill, and James watched his best friend carefully. He wasn't the most perceptive person ever, he knew that, but ever since the fight Sirius had had with Professor Dickhead, James could tell he hadn't been himself. It seemed the words that had been thrown at him- 'blood traitor' included- had in fact got to him, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

James hesitated before they entered the changing room. "You _are_ alright, mate, aren't you? I mean after all that shit Edwards' said…"

"I'm fine." Sirius replied, abruptly, his grey eyes turning to steel.

James scratched his head uncomfortably. "Well… just know that that he was sprouting crap, Pads. And, if you do ever feel shit about it-"

"I said I'm fine James." Sirius snapped, slamming the chest down with more force than necessary. "Just drop it, okay?"

And without a word, he stormed into the changing rooms.

James followed him with a sigh.

That evening, Darlene sat in the common room with Sirius, Lily, Peter and Frank. Alice was working in her dorm, and, (according to Frank), was hexing anyone who came near her; Marlene was out with Will, and the others had disappeared to various places after dinner.

She watched disinterestedly as Sirius and Frank played Gobstones; Lily was reading a muggle book and Peter was frantically scribbling down an overdue essay, so there wasn't anyone to talk to, and Darlene was bored. She was meant to be working too, but really couldn't be bothered, and she found her mind wondering to other places and thinking about other things- Andrew Baker, mainly. She didn't know how she felt after their little meeting, only that her heart hadn't stopped pounding until she'd reached the common room, and she hadn't stopped thinking about him until Addie appeared, and she was able to distract herself.

Absentmindedly, her gaze wondered over to Jo, who was chatting animatedly to a smiling Susan. Just seeing the girl still made Darlene mad, and a small part of her wished she had just kissed Andrew to spite her… but she wasn't that type of person- or at least, she hoped she wasn't.

Anyway, what was she even thinking? How could Darlene ever compete with _that_? The girl was drop-dead gorgeous, despite her lofty expression, and she knew that she must have Andrew wrapped around her little finger. She sighed again- what was it about him that had got under her skin? Yes he was handsome, but he wasn't incredibly funny and she knew it must be his charm. He made her feel as though she was the only person in the world, as cheesy as it sounded, and no one had ever made her feel as important as he did when he spoke to her.

A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. "Lily, aren't you coming to the prefect meeting?" Remus asked the girl as he approached the area in which they sat. He looked completely exhausted, Darlene noted; his skin looked even more pale than usual, and huge purple bags had formed under his eyes.

The red-head jumped up, dropping her book in the process. "Oh shit, Remus, I completely forgot!"

He chuckled, but it was strained with tiredness. "Don't worry, we've still got ten minutes to go."

"Oh. Well thanks for reminding me." She picked up the book she had dropped, flushing slightly, but then frowned at him as she straightened. He was leaning on the sofa, his golden eyes dull with sleep deprivation. "Um, are you sure you're okay to go, though Remus? You look a little…"

"Peaky, I know. But I'm sure I'll be fine." he insisted, his tone of voice making it clear he didn't want to talk about it.

"Alright." she replied, still looking uncertain. "We'll just head off then, shall we?"

They walked through the corridors, heading to the dungeons, where the prefect meeting was held, in comfortable silence. Remus walked slowly, and Lily matched his pace, not wanting to rush him when he looked so dreadfully drawn.

She chewed on her lip, throwing him furtive glances until she couldn't take it anymore. "Remus, are you _sure_ you don't want to-"

His eyes were soft as he shook his head firmly, smiling at her. "I really appreciate your concern Lily, but I can assure you that I'm fine. Or, I will be soon."

"Alright." she sighed, finally giving up.

They descended the steps down to the dungeons, and walked through the maze of corridors quietly- the only sound being their muffled footsteps. Light from the lanterns lining the walls flickered as they walked past, casting shadows that danced along the corridor as the taste of stale dust got stronger in Lily's mouth.

"I used to be so creeped out by these dungeons." she admitted, eliciting a smile from Remus.

"I can see why you would be," he replied, glancing at her. "but we've explored them so often over the years that they've never really frightened me much."

"I've always wondered about that- how you lot sneak about so much? Surely someone must have caught you."

Remus grinned. "We _have_ been caught- many times- but we've got away with it just as often. I won't give away any trade secrets…" -Lily scoffed at this- "But I will say this; Sirius and James may act like idiots, but they are exceptionally talented."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, I wouldn't say 'exceptionally'…" she muttered, making Remus laugh.

"So, how's things at home?" he asked, veering the subject away from the Marauders. "Have you written any letters back yet?"

Lily shrugged. "I wrote a couple to Mum and Dad. They say Petunia's happy… it was her and Vernon's sixth month anniversary the other day."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Six months with _him_? I don't know how she does it." Remus had never met Vernon, but he had heard enough from Lily to know he was far from being the most charming person on earth.

Lily snorted. "Me neither- but then again I don't know how he puts up with her either." Her abrupt tone made it obvious she didn't want to discuss her sister. "So, how are things with you?"

"Okay, I suppose. Mum and Dad are still their quiet old selves… they're planning on retiring in a year or so and moving by the sea."

"That'll be nice." Lily smiled. "I'd love to live by the seaside one day."

"Me too."

They'd arrived in the empty classroom where the other prefects sat around chatting, and the two went to sit with their fellow Gryffindor's- the fifth years, (Mary McDonald, and a round faced, rosy-cheeked boy Lily didn't recognise), sat slightly apart from Richard Johnson- the seventh year who had replaced Frank when he became Head Boy- and it was easy to see why. Richard could definitely be portrayed as intimidating with his dark bushy eyebrows and hard eyes, but in actual fact he was a pretty nice guy. Lily locked eyes with Snape for a fraction of a second- he was sat on the Slytherin table on the far side of the room- before tugging her gaze away and plastering a smile on her face for her fellow house-mates.

"Hullo." Remus greeted, collapsing exhaustedly into a spare chair. There were a few mutters in response and his eyes searched the group. "No Quinn?" he checked, seeing that the other seventh year prefect was in fact missing.

Richard nodded towards the door and they turned to see her rushing over, breathless. She was a small, dumpy girl with thick blonde hair and pretty azure eyes. "Sorry I'm so late." she gasped, taking a seat next to Lily. "I completely forgot."

"Don't worry." Lily laughed, "I did too."

Quinn returned her smile before turning to the fifth years with curious eyes. "So, who are the new prefects? What are your names?"

"I'm George Lloyd-Clarke." The rosy-cheeked boy said pompously, offering his hand. "Head of the Gobstones committee." Quinn shook it, obviously fighting back a smile.

"Right. Impressive. And you are?"

"Mary McDonald." The girl replied, blushing.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet both of you. I'm sure you'll make excellent prefects."

"Thanks." Mary muttered. Lily got the feeling she didn't really want to be there.

Eventually, Frank and the head girl (Holly Floyd of Ravenclaw) were ready to begin the meeting. Frank cleared his throat nervously as he stood in front of the prefects, and Lily felt sorry for the gangly boy.

"Good evening all." he greeted, beaming round at them all. "And welcome to our first prefect meeting. Holly and I have got a few ideas we thought we could put across to begin with, but we want to make this the best Hogwarts year, since it is our last, and we really need you help to do that. So, we thought we could start by talking about any ideas, worries or thoughts you lot have to make this year special." He paused, glancing around hopefully. "Any ideas?"

"I'd love to bring back the Gobstones club." offered Sammy Talbot from the Hufflepuff table. "They shut it down third year when Marius chucked one at Jenny Sanders and broke her nose, but he's graduated now so surely it'll be okay, right?"

Frank chuckled, but jotted down the request.

"We should do something to celebrate Dumbledore's birthday." Quinn suggested. "I heard he turns a hundred in April."

A sixth year Hufflepuff clapped her hands together excitedly. "Ooh yeah! And that's close to my birthday too!"

The boy next to her groaned. "It's not about you, Melinda. Dumbledore's done loads of stuff for the wizarding community. What have _you_ done?"

"I was only saying." pouted Melinda, the colour rising in her cheeks.

"Yea, but you're always-"

"Alright, alright." interrupted Frank, before an argument could ensue. "What could we do to celebrate?"

"We could have a feast?" The head girl offered, from Frank's side.

"But we have feasts all the _time_." Melinda complained loudly. "It needs to be different."

"Well, we could make it different." Holly explained. "We could move all the tables around and eat with everyone sat together."

There were groans from the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables.

"Just because your boyfriend's in Slytherin." Melinda muttered. Holly glared at her.

"Well, we won't decide anything for definite yet." Frank said quickly. "These are only ideas, remember… Anyone else?"

A timid- looking Slytherin girl raised her hand. "We could have a dance- a ball of sorts?"

At this, both Holly and Melinda's eyes lit up. "That's perfect!" Holly exclaimed, smiling at the girl. "We could have music and dancing and ball gowns…"

Opposite Lily, Richard put his head in his hands and she stifled a giggle. Across the room, some of the other students were having similar reactions- they didn't look quite as excited as Melinda and Holly.

Frank wrote the idea down, tucking the list he'd made in his inside pocket, and they moved on to the next list on the agenda, (Hogsmeade weekend dates). But they glow of excitement didn't leave Holly's eye, and Lily was pretty certain that the dance was very likely to happen if the head girl had anything to say about it.

" _Shh_." Marlene giggled as Will let out a choked laugh. He had just walked her back to the portrait hole after they'd spent the last hour or so in a broom closet- doing things that Marlene hadn't wanted Will's dorm mates, or hers for that matter- too see. The Fat Lady watched them jealously, glaring with her nose pointed in the air, but for once stayed silent. She'd probably dealt with couples sneaking out for so many years that she was sick to the teeth of it.

"Thanks for tonight." he muttered softly, pressing his lips to her forehead and holding her close to him. She loved it when Will was like this- affectionate and kind and ever so caring- and she nuzzled against him.

"It's 'kay." she replied, smiling. "I had fun."

"Me too." His eyes were warm, and in the lamplight they looked like melted chocolate pools. He smiled down at her, his lips slightly puffy from their kissing session. "I love you." he whispered, closing his eyes and leaning towards her.

Her stomach clenched like it did every time he said those three words, but still she smiled up at him, pressing her lips to his. "I love you too." she said.

But really, Marlene didn't know _what_ she felt for Will. Yes, she loved the way he was when they were together; and yes she _liked_ him a lot, but being in love seemed way too big. It was something she didn't think she was ready for yet, and something that scared the life out of her- but she couldn't bear to see the look in his eyes if she told him that she couldn't say it back, so she did so anyway.

Eventually, after a few indignant looks from the Fat Lady, Marlene stepped through the portrait hole and collapsed in an armchair with a sigh. It was only half ten, but she was exhausted, and after wishing her friends a goodnight, she soon found herself climbing the staircase to bed.

It was three a.m. Well, two minutes past three if you wanted to be exact- but that was besides the point. It was three a.m. and Sirius Black still couldn't get to fucking sleep.

About an hour and a half previously, he'd tried to start a conversation with his fellow dorm mates- asking Pete if he'd done the charms essay; asking James if he wanted to hex Snivelly tomorrow, (the answer had been an exasperating- 'not for the sake of it', and Sirius had muttered angrily that James was so righteous all of a sudden, just because Lily's words were finally getting to him- and that he was forgetting about his _real_ soulmate, who was lying two metres away), but he'd finally had to give up when James swore at him foully and Remus threw a book at him- it was that one about the venomous dragon and it was bloody _heavy_ \- and reminded him that it was the full moon tomorrow night and he was being a completely inconsiderate arse keeping them all awake. So Sirius had tossed and turned, and sulked in silence.

And now it was three a.m.

He sighed. It had come to the point that he knew he had to acknowledge the reason _why_ he was awake; the reason that he'd been putting off for the whole day, (Sirius was a master when it came to delaying the inevitable), and the reason why sleep just wouldn't welcome him into its loving arms.

And it was all that creepy-as-fuck Professor's fault.

The words still rang in his head when he thought back to the day he'd punched the prick. _'Blood traitor',_ he'd called him _._ It was a label that Sirius knew he'd have to live with in the future, especially since there were loads of people in the world- including that Voldy bloke- that would class him as it, but he could deal with that fact. He'd accepted that by being friends with all the people he was- Lily, Addie- that he was theoretically putting himself in danger, but it didn't bother him- if being friends with some of the most talented, wonderful people he knew meant that some old blokes with ugly characters would hate him, then so be it.

No, it wasn't the _meaning_ of the word that bothered him, or even the fact that it had been said; it was the fact that that word reminded him of his parents. And if Sirius Black hated one thing most in the world- more than Severus Snape, more than Bellatrix Black, even- it was his parents.

Sighing, he sat up and swung his legs of the side of his bed, holding his head in his hands. If he planned on getting any sleep whatsoever tonight, he knew he had to get out of this stuffy room and clear his head. So quietly, he crept out of the dormitory, (doing a better job than James ever had), and made his way downstairs. The common room was as quiet and as welcoming as ever, and immediately Sirius felt better; the room had always had that effect on him. Carefully, he made his way over to the fire, which was still flickering quietly, and went to take a seat.

But with a start, he realised he wasn't alone.

"Addie?" Sirius whispered with surprise, squinting at the far end of the sofa he was just about to sit on, but the girl didn't respond. She was fast asleep, curled up in a ball, her dark hair curling around her pale little heart-shaped face. Sirius smiled softly at how cute she looked- a scatter of little freckles covered her nose, and her soft breaths moved a stray piece of her dark hair every time she exhaled. But then he shook himself- creeping on sleeping girls was _not_ cool, Black, no matter how well you knew them.

Her feet looked cold, so he conjured a fluffy blanket, draping it over her before he settled down on the sofa. He glanced at her once more to check she still slept, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper which he began to read.

"What's that?" Addie asked, sleepily. The weight of the warm blanket had woken her up, but she didn't want to startle Sirius so she'd waited until he'd settled back down to speak. Her plan didn't work, however, and he still jumped, quickly stuffing the paper back in his pocket.

"Nothing." he said quickly, glancing at her. Then he raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing down here so late?"

"I could ask you the same question."

He chuckled. "I asked you first."

She nestled further under the blanket- her heart had melted when he'd placed it on her, and she held it close; somehow it smelt like Sirius. " _Fine_." she mumbled, her cheeks warming. "…I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" He looked perplexed, his eyebrows drawing together. "Is that why you've been so tired recently?"

"No. Well, maybe… yes." she sighed, shuffling away from his scorching gaze. She couldn't believe that he was _actually_ worried- he had to be laughing at her.

"What are they about?" he asked.

"What?"

"The nightmares."

"Oh." There was a pause. "I don't really know." she lied, swallowing. For some reason she felt uncomfortable- as though opening up to him at three a.m. could lead her down a road she wasn't sure she was ready to take.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine." he smirked. "Don't tell me."

There was a moment of tense silence and she felt her resolve crumble. " _Urgh_ , you're so annoying." she groaned. "Fine, I'll tell you."

He bit back a smile. "I feel honoured."

Rolling her eyes this time, she took a deep breath and began. Despite his jokey words, Sirius leant forward, his grey eyes serious as he listened intently.

"Well… they usually start with me alone in my dorm. It's dark outside the window, and everything's calm. But then, suddenly, this swell of panic rises in me, and everything goes completely silent- that's the horrible bit, because I don't have a clue what's going on- and I can't even hear myself breathing; I just feel scared. And then suddenly I'm running. I run through the common room, which is completely deserted; through the empty corridors; through the entrance hall; and then I push through the doors and I'm outside. The moon's so bright, and the grounds are pitch black, and it's _freezing_. Sometimes I'm wearing my quidditch clothes, and sometimes my pyjamas, but usually I'm just wearing muggle clothes, though they change almost every time; and then I'm in the forbidden forest and that's when the sound kicks in. And I can hear every little thing- the rustling of the branches and the trees and the whooshing of the wind and then this high-pitched wailing…. It's almost like a scream _,_ but it's not. And this howling just goes on and on and on and the feeling in my stomach… this fear… it just gets worse and worse, and then I trip and fall and I'm all alone, and I know I have to get up and move on… or something awful's gonna happen- the wailing's getting louder and louder… but I can't." She was panting by this point, her eyes wide with panic, and Sirius moved towards her instinctively, wrapping an arm around her trembling body.

"It's okay, Addie." he soothed, holding her until she calmed down. "It's okay." Eventually, her breathing evened and he released her gently.

"I'm sorry." she said, forcing out a laugh. "It's stupid, I know." Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

"It's not stupid." he frowned, reluctantly moving away to give her some space. "Have you gone to Madame Pomfrey for a dreamless sleep potion?"

"No." she admitted. "I was too embarrassed. What sixteen year old girl has night terrors?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, biting down the sour taste in his mouth at the thought of her going through this every night. "Addie, I'll go with you myself tomorrow; if it's getting this bad you have to speak to someone."

She hesitated for a moment, seeing the conviction in his eyes, before sighing. " _Fine_. I'll go with you."

"Good." He smiled, but still his grey eyes were troubled.

"Anyway," she said brightly, brushing away the sombre feeling that had crept into the room, "Why are _you_ down here so late?"

At her words, his expression changed completely; it was as though a wall slammed up behind his eyes. His dark irises- always filled with sparkling laughter- became dark and dull, and Addie felt as though he were pushing her as far away from him as he could without physically laying a hand on her.

"I just couldn't sleep." he said abruptly.

Addie narrowed her eyes; she knew something was wrong, and he wouldn't get away that easily. " _Sirius_ ," she warned. "Don't play that game. I told you what the matter was with me."

His expression softened and he sighed, glancing at her. "I know you did." A smirk played on his lips, and it seemed his playful demeanour had returned. Addie edged closer.

"Was it something to do with the boys?" she probed, "… A girl?"

"No nothing like that…" He watched her carefully, as if gauging her reaction. "… It's my parents."

"Oh." She felt a flare of anger flash across her eyes at that; she, like most of their friends, hated Orion and Walburga Black with a passion. "What about them?" she asked, slowly.

He looked away. "It's… it's complicated."

Addie laughed dryly. "I've got all night."

A flicker of a grin flitted across his face, but then it had gone, and he was sighing again. "It's just... okay, you remember that day with Professor Arsehole, right?"

Addie smiled. "Yes, I do faintly recall it."

"Well, it just so happens that on the morning that that _unfortunate_ incident had occurred, I got a letter from his parents. They were just saying the same obnoxious, spiteful crap that they've spouted to me ever since I've moved in with the Potter's, and I told himself I didn't care- but somehow, at some point…" he trailed off.

"It got to you." Addie finished, softly. Her expression were soft and warm, and her bright blue eyes drew him closer. "That's perfectly normal Sirius- of course it is. I mean, despite everything, they're still your parents."

"They're not." he replied, harshly. "They're nothing to me."

"Okay. I get that. But it's only natural that the things they said would still hurt you."

"But that's the _thing_." He moved closer to her, running his hand through his dark hair almost manically. In the firelight, he looked almost deranged, with wide, crazed eyes- and for the first time she got a glimpse of the broken boy who'd suffered years of abuse at the hands of his cruel parents. The thought made her want to hold him and never let go. "I don't _want_ it to hurt me. I want to be able to not give a damn, and I want to be free of this fucking hold they still have over my life."

"Sirius-"

"You know what I think?" he swallowed thickly, his eyes almost pleading with her to understand. "I think if they hadn't sent that _damn_ letter and that stupid Professor hadn't called you a mudblood on the same day- if he'd just called me a blood traitor, I mean… then maybe I wouldn't have hit him."

" _Sirius_ -"

"Okay, okay, maybe I still would've- but I would have felt _better_ about it, because at least I would have been doing something that I knew was definitely my choice, and not something that was fuelled by the anger that they'd poured into me in that stupid letter…"

He sighed, the passion deflating out of him. "I just wish they didn't affect me so much."

She grabbed his hands, her eyes blazing with sudden passion. "Sirius, don't you see? It's up to _you_ ; they're cruel and horrible people, and that won't change- but you can. You've just got to be able to not let it affect you."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you still got that letter?"

He shrugged, looking down.

"Have you?" she insisted.

"Yeah." Sheepishly, he pulled the crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket, and Addie took it from him. She scanned the contents quickly- words like 'shameful', 'abomination' and 'humiliation' sticking out of the page- and looked up at him, feeling a swell of anger and aching for redemption.

"This is what I mean, Sirius." she said roughly. "You don't need to open this. You've been carrying it around for days, re-reading it over and over… Instead, you need to say 'fuck them' and never open another letter with the Black family seal again. You can't let them get to you."

He nodded- slowly at first, and then more vigorously. "You're right. _Merlin_ , Addie, you're right. I can still be in control."

And with that he stood, walking over to the fire that still crackled and spat. He hesitated for only a moment, glancing back at her, before chucking the letter into the flames.

And in that moment, standing there with such certainty and courage blazing in his eyes, Addie had never thought Sirius looked more like a Gryffindor.


End file.
